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Edinburgh Fringe 2003 PREVIEW
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The
Typographer's Dream |
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Mark Tyson | |
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We are frequently told that we are living in the information age, in a post-material society. We are also told that we are all consumers now; but the stuff that we consume has to be produced, and most of us still go to work. Adam Bock has taken a surprising and intriguing look at the much neglected world of work. Bock's three protagonists begin the play on what looks like an interview panel; only it is us they are trying to impress. They capture the awkwardness that can be experienced when someone says 'what do you do?'. There is an attempt to be interesting with a suspicion that you might not be. 'But enough about me, what do you do?'. If the title of the play has you reaching for the dictionary, don't worry. As the characters talk about their jobs, these become interesting mini-lectures in themselves. Kenneth Avery-Clark, as Dave the stenographer (look it up), almost runs away with the play; he displays the commitment and attention to detail that is essential for anyone who is good at what they do. Dave is part passionate enthusiast, part nerd, walking a precarious line between dedication and obsessiveness. Some of the subtlety is lost, however, as Dave becomes increasingly camp and fussy. Because pedantry and fussiness are not quite the same thing. Annalise (Kathryn Akin), the geographer, is a bit much. If you create an annoying character he or she should have some redeeming features. Annalise announces that geography is a science, but she is like the hectoring geography teacher from hell; one of these new fangled geographers who think that the world would be better without people in it. The typographer (Nicola Redmond), is the most enigmatic character; she talks about her work in a visionary way, but feels compromised by the unscrupulous world of advertising, with its management consultants and bullying bosses. The play grabs and hold the attention, but it is not clear whether Bock is ambivalent about his themes and characters or whether he has deliberately left them unresolved. It becomes clear that the typographer's powerlessness is her main source of discontent, but there is also a suggestion that power corrupts. They play seems to be saying that idealism (even of the tree hugging variety) is doomed to failure, and that people who are enthusiastic about their jobs are a bit weird and probably gay. Yet all the protagonists in their different ways are commited to truth and making the world a better place. So we are left with an uneasy mix of aspiration and cynicism. The
Typographer's Dream will be playing at the Pleasance, Edinburgh from 30 July.
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