News

Rhinoceros The Lyric Theatre

REVIEW

PaRlez vous francais? Non? Maybe give theatraverse's adaptation of Rhinoceros a miss then.

Ionesco's 1959 play is most definitely the theatre of the absurd. Not to mention it's Kafkaesque and avant garde and generally quite trippy. The programme said it was "an existential reflection on conformism" which is a fine example of just how high brow a play it was.

Berenger has been played by Laurence Olivier and Benedict Cumberbatch but the french everyman was played by an actual frenchman, Guillaume Paulette. All of his dialogue was en francais but his despair, confusion and resilience was clear through his movements and tone. The use of colour helped separate Berenger from the herd and the simple set was effective for the more comic moments. At an hour and forty minutes and without an interval the play was long. Not understanding about half of the dialogue may have been the reason why it seemed to drag as it felt like it was more in French than English.

Emma Gallen