Skip to main content

Review of Rebus: Long Shadows at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Ian Rankin's John Rebus has been stalking the underworld of Edinburgh for over thirty years now in both his novels and various TV adaptations. Here though, with an adaptation by Rona Munro, the, now retired, detective, takes to the stage for the first time, and even to this reviewer, slightly lacking in knowledge (I have read the first two novels a long time ago), it proves an entertaining, if slightly unfulfilling evening at times.

The story of Rebus: Long Shadows unfolds following a chance encounter with a young girl on his tenement stairs, the wounds of two unsolved cases of murdered girls open up in Rebus' mind, leading to encounters with old colleague Siobhan Clarke, and recurring nemesis 'Big Ger' Cafferty.

At the centre of this whole production is a superb dominating performance by Charles Lawson, depicting the grizzled, weary drink swigging detective with huge skill. His whole demeanour embodies the nature of the character, from his voice to his gait and onto his movement. He lurches smoothly from rugged, violent and hugely witty in the delivery of the often very funny script.

John Stahl meanwhile gives an even better performance as Cafferty, viciousness dealt in an almost friendly nature, he towers over everyone else with ease, in both size and indeed power, as he observes Edinburgh from up high in his apartment. It a tremendously strong performance delivered with panache.

Cathy Tyson however for me gives a tremendously odd performance, the character itself seems poorly created here, and her delivery like some sort of train station announcer puts no light and shade into the character. I know that she is excellent, her CV shows that, but here, I really found nothing to like from her performance at all.

Neil McKinven though gives excellent support, depicting five characters throughout the play, making them all so believable that at times I thought there was an actor I had missed in the programme. Superb work.

Ti Green's set is slightly less successful than her monumental one seen in a recent production at the Royal, Touching the Void, and ends up having excellent flourishes when it becomes a bar, pub or Cafferty apartment, but elsewhere, and throughout the entire show, the vast sweeping stairs impose a little too much on proceedings much of the time.

The set also fails to adapt to the Royal stage as well, clearly designed for bigger venues, a few areas of the original blocking from director Robin Lefevre are hidden from side sections of the audience, especially in Rebus' flat when activity by his filing cabinets disappears from view of one side of the audience. Lefevre also has a habit of long sequence of limited movement, including the first meet between Rebus and Clarke, a very long scene, filled with a lot of exposition, and lacking in drive, and some overly long segments with actors with their back to the audience. Also for a while, the whole play fails to prove to its audience that it is a stage play, with this easily feeling like a TV episode in itself with the camera barely needing to move.

Thankfully it improves, and much of the grasping of a theatrical experience comes from the handling of the two dead girls by the director. Both are excellently performed by Dani Heron and Eleanor House, with their overshadowing of the troubled Rebus upon high, and excellently brought into the role of stage managers. Their seamless nature in this is highlighted in the one scene where the scene change is not the sole responsibility of them when we arrive a Cafferty's apartment. The scene change, while quick, feels clunky as a result of how well everything else is done. Elsewhere there is some lovely atmospheric lighting from the late Chahine Yavroyan and Simon Bond which very much evokes the long shadows of the title upon Ti Green's predominantly black set.

Rebus: Long Shadows is always entertaining and keeps interest, although the plot is very much a sideshow to the characters created. Munro's script from Rankin's original does enough to bring an audience unfamiliar with the world of Rebus into it without becoming too much of a frantic crash course, however, I do suspect that fans already of Rebus, in either form, will gain the most from this opportunity to see those familiar characters upon the stage. Entertaining, but never more than a slightly joining the dots production.

Entertaining, but generally just a joining of the dots production.
⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Monday 5th November 2018 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.
Rebus: Long Shadows runs at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday 10th November 2018 before continuing its tour. Details at https://www.ianrankin.net/longshadows/
For further details about the Royal & Derngate see their website at 
http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Photos: Robert Day


Popular posts from this blog

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...

Review of Only Fools and Horses - The Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The classic BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses , created by John Sullivan and running for 22 years, holds a fond spot in the hearts of many. Even if you are not a fan, most are slightly familiar with the exploits of wheeler-dealer Del Boy and his lanky brother Rodney. However, who could think this could be the subject of a hit musical? Well, it turns out that Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, the son of the original writer, did, and it has to be said, in Del Boy lingo, it's proper lovely jubbly! Bringing iconic characters to the stage that the same actors have played for so many years presents a challenge to any performer; however, without exception, director Caroline Jay Ranger and her team have assembled a stellar cast. Leading the action is, of course, Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, played by Sam Lupton with all the energy and wideboy manner of the legendary David Jason. Lupton looks the part, sounds the part, even, of course, in song, but even manages to add his own charm to ...

Review of Immune by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The cover note for the script of Oladipo Agboluaje's Immune describes it as "a challenging science fiction play with a large cast", and the word challenging in this case is not a lie. This is a fast paced, multi-cast changing script which leaves little room for error for its young cast in the performance. If the script isn't enough to handle for the young performers, director Christopher Elmer-Gorry and designer Carl Davies have made the situation even more complex for the actors with the set and stage work. Having to manhandle great panels on wheels and a huge cube, which also splits in two occasionally, during scene changes requires skill, coordination and cooperation of a high level. As if all this is not enough, the actual story is epic enough for the relatively small stage of the Royal. Attempting to form an apocalyptic world (albeit only happening in Plymouth) offers challenges in itself, but Agboluaje's script does that in a sort of apocalypse in the teac...