“But this country. This country we so dearly love, is she
admired? She used to be. She used to be great, used to be respected, used to be
feared. But now what part do we play in the world?”
This quote could conceivably be a present day comment on the
state of our nation. Instead it’s taken from this revival of Jo Clifford’s 1985
play Losing Venice. Set in the
Spanish Golden Age of the 17th century, it explores issues of
gender, masculinity and the downfall of a nation – performed in 2018 it is
bizarrely prophetic.
The narrative centres on a Spanish Duke (Tim Delap) and his
poet Quevado (Christopher Logan). Following his marriage, the Duke grows restless
and weary of his new wife (Florence Roberts) and so, through a desperate desire
to prove himself, sets out to take over Venice from the Italians. But playing
with timeframes, director Paul Miller and designer Jess Curtis blur the lines
between historically accurate costumes and a vivid, 80s punk sensibility that
lends the production a rebellious and disruptive spirit. That continues with
Terry Davies’ music that uses both electric guitar and mandolin.
The first half offers an intriguing exploration of gender,
through some witty dialogue and amusing double entendres. As a critique of
masculinity it works – pathetic, gullible and inadequate - though its female
characters seem thinly drawn by comparison. More intriguing still is that
Clifford’s experience as a transgender woman has over time surely coloured the
play’s gender politics.
In the second half, though, the production doesn’t just lose
Venice but the audience too. On arriving in the Italian city, the characters
embark on a surreal journey through sewers and dark candlelit hallways, led my
mysterious religious figures. It’s just not clear what it all represents,
meaning the initial battle of the sexes soon falls apart.
It remains, though, an engaging watch. The unique aesthetic
and strong performances do somewhat pull it all together – Delap’s crotch
thrusting Duke is a tumbling pillar of masculinity, Logan flaps amusingly as
the poet, and Eleanor Fanyinka gives a more grounded performance as servant
Maria. But we’re ultimately left in the lurch – which is another fitting and
prescient parallel to today’s political indecisions.
3/5
Watch: Losing Venice runs at the Orange Tree Theatre until 20th October.
Photos: Helen Maybanks
