There
are
cleverness,
skill and invention in
Michael Frayn’s “The Two of
Us”, a
four-play production
at the Garrick; there
are also
long-windedness,
shortage of ideas at
certain critical
points, and a need for
a steadily sustained
theatrical flourish.
So obviously we have a
mixed evening. Yet one
can easily imagine Mr
Frayn coming up later
on with something with
a better all-round
polish, firmer
handling, and finer
judgement as to just
how long a work can go
on with safety.
In
"Black and
Silver" we
have a couple in the
throes of trying to
recapture the romance
of a Venetian
honeymoon; now they
have a baby yelling in
the offing, and habit
has grown many a
crust. It is fun some
of the time; at
other times it flags.
“The New
Quixote" has
a young man talking
badly digested Freud
as he prepares to move
in with a woman whose
idea it is that he
should stay but one
night. This, too, has
its diversions; this,
too. rather
disappoints in the
end. Getting
closer
to
underlying realities,
in "Mr Foot"
Mr Frayn is at his
best, with a husband
and wife deep in
frustration, the
husband's wagging foot
being expressive of a
world of suppressed
hysteria and emotion
gone to dust. Farce
comes
with
“Chinamen",
a sort of Goldoni
sketch in a with-it
London setting, which
at its best, is slick
and
ingenious.
The
acting,
like
the plays, varies in
impact and quality.
Richard Briers and
Lynn Redgrave, playing
many parts, shoulder
the evening valiantly.
In “The New
Quixote" they
are at their best, and
“Mr Foot”
brings excellent
moments from them. One
wanted throughout,
however, a brighter
sparkle, more variety,
at once a deeper and a
lighter touch, and as
with the plays, a
pervading theatrical
flourish.