Angels in America Part One
Martin Harris Studio
On the week a statue is unveiled of Ronald Regan in Grosvenor Square and the myth making begins about his being ‘one of America’s finest sons’ (Wm Hague) a production of Angels in America seems aptly timed to remind us what life was like in mid 80’s Republican America. Homophobia reached epic proportions in the States as the AIDs epidemic swept the country, interpreted as Gods judgment against the gay community by religious fundamentalists. Tony Kushner chronicled the lives of 5 New Yorkers against this backdrop.
The production by Deadline Theatre & Motion Loco for the ‘Not Part of Festival’ is only partially successful in delivering Part One of this ambitious and complex play. Some of the characters could have been more fully drawn and convincing and were not always audible, though Eugene Collins playing Belize the gay nurse successfully sustained his character and there are good moments from Alexander Atherton playing Prior the gay man with AIDs. The scenes where he confronts his ancestors are deftly directed and the scene changes are pretty seamless. However the play overall is difficult to follow. The Angel that descends to Prior at the end of the play needed to be more impressive to produce the sense of awe and ‘utmost difficulty’ Kushner intended. This is an ambitious work for young actors – I applaud Terence Mann the director for taking on this challenge but feel it was only partially successful.