Becket

Presented by Independent Theatre

Reviewed date Sat 21st April 2012

 

Independent Theatre are currently presenting Jean Anouilh’s 1959 hit play, Becket; ou l’honneur de Dieu (Becket; or the Honour of God), under the direction of Artistic Director, Rob Croser. This version is the translation by Lucienne Hill that was written immediately after Anouilh’s was first produced. The company last performed this play in 1980 in St. Peter’s Cathedral.

 

As the play begins, in 1174, King Henry II is publicly atoning by stripping to the waist prior to allowing monks to whip him. We then return to an earlier, happier time when he and Thomas Becket are great friends or, to be more accurate, Henry loves Thomas, and Thomas is loyal to, and supportive of his royal master. They share the pleasures of the pursuits available to them, from hunting, to drinking, and whoring.

 

Henry insists that the Church pay their overdue taxes and refuses to listen to their excuses as to why they should be exempt. Henry first makes Thomas the Chancellor of England, setting him, too, against the Church. Henry then appoints Thomas as the Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of the current Archbishop, thinking that this would give him an ally and some indirect control over the Church, but he failed to foresee Thomas taking the job seriously.

 

Suddenly, Henry now sees him as an adversary. He is torn between his new found hatred and his long term love for Thomas. After various events, including Thomas seeking refuge in France for several years, before returning to England under Henry’s protection, all ends badly with Becket’s vicious assassination in 1170, from where we return to Henry’s atonement and the end of the play.

 

The two lead roles are played by Stephen Tongun, as Becket, and Samuel Rogers, as Henry. Rogers portrays Henry, in a powerful and wide ranging performance, as a man whose emotions are like a roller coaster: overly effusive in his expressions of love, sudden bursts of anger, tantrums when thwarted, and generally overbearing. There is little to like in this Henry but that is probably what Anouihl intended, putting the focus on Becket as the victim.

 

In complete contrast, Tongun portrays Becket as calm, collected, unemotional and, in fact, rather unfeeling person and he could even be seen as a loner. He is not a particularly appealing person appealing either, really. Tongun’s excellent characterisation certainly fits the bill well, but his tendency to rush his dialogue, and drop his projection at the end of sentences, often presents difficulties for the audience in understanding what is said.

 

David Roach gives a strong performance as Gilbert Folliot, Bishop of London, convincingly conspiring with the King to bring down Becket for the good of the Church. Roach also appears briefly as Pope Alexander III, consulting with Cardinal Zambelli, played by Todd Gray, in an oddly humorous interjection to the drama and featuring the sort of terribly false Italian accents one might hear in a farce.

 

Shona Benson seemed a little uncomfortable in the role of Gwendolen, concubine of Thomas, claimed by Henry and dutifully handed over, but really came into her own as Matilda, the Queen Mother, opposing her son Henry in favour of her grandson. Peta Shannon, too, is superb as Queen Eleanor, creating plenty of sparks in her conflict with Henry.

 

Nicholas Ely is hilarious as a high camp Louis Vii of France in another rather odd comic interlude in the middle of this dark and tense drama. Andre Vafiadis displays plenty of angst in a creditable performance as William, a confused young monk whom Becket takes under his wing. There is good support from those in minor roles, too, but the comic interruptions to what is mainly a serious tragedy, does tend to grate a little.

 

The striking set design, by Rob Croser and David Roach, simply has a wall at the rear, broken in two by a cross shaped opening, and a number of tall, square columns that can be wheeled around to change the appearance of the set with changes in location. Martin Marciniak’s very effective lighting design does the rest. Between them they show just how much can be done with an active imagination. The costumes, too, give the impression without needing all of the detail.

 

Get along and see this work for some fine performances, acute direction, and great production values.

 

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide

 

 

Venue: Odeon Theatre, Queen Street, Norwood

Season: 6:30pm Tues 24 then 7:30pm nightly Wed 25 to Sat 28 April, and 2pm Sat 28 April 2012

Duration: 2hrs 50min (incl. interval)

Tickets: Adults $35/concession $30/groups $25/Students $18/children $15

Bookings: Phone 1300 889 702 or online here

 

Further notes on the script. Barry Lenny.

 

Jean Anouilh based his play, on one book, Augustin Thierry's The Conquest of England by the Normans, in which he read the story of Thomas Becket. Unfortunately, the story in this book was historically very inaccurate, as he discovered after he had written his play, but he decided not to rewrite his script.

 

Consequently, Becket in the play is a Saxon from a poor background, rather than actually being the son of wealthy Norman parents, Gilbert of Thierceville and Matilda of Caen, who had left Normandy to live in London, his father at one stage being the Sheriff of London. Thomas, who was born in Cheapside, London in 1118 (some later sources say 1120), was well educated and studied in both London and Paris.

 

Another error was that his mother was a Saracen, a rumour reportedly started somewhat later in attempts to discredit him. Robert of Cricklade, in fact described him as “slim of growth and pale of hue, with dark hair, a long nose, and a straightly featured face. Blithe of countenance was he, winning and loveable in his conversation, frank of speech in his discourses, but slightly stuttering in his talk”, in which the description of his physical appearance hardly sounds as though there were any Saracen influences.

 

There is also nothing in any of the more reliable records to support the homoerotic relationship that Anouilh presents between Henry and Becket, nor that Henry was as heavily emotionally dependent on Becket as is depicted in this play.