There is no doubt many people are unfamiliar with Jacques Tati's works; they are so far in the past, and perhaps so much of their time, they get little airtime now. However, at least for a brief period, Royal & Derngate via their Made in Northampton series, has recreated them as a stage adaption of
Playtime, perhaps the most famous of Tati’s films, for a brand new audience, or one that is old enough to remember them originally.
The story behind
Playtime is that there is no story. It is a world of events just happening, and an observation of many characters going about their business. However, there is a thread across the play of course, even if a play has no story it still needs a cause of motion. So, we see the arrival of passengers at Paris airport, their journey to an Expo, their visit to a restaurant, and finally, at the very end, back at the airport, and departures. Along the way, we meet a bewildering number of characters and witness a few burgeoning romances. And that is it.
On paper, it probably doesn’t look like it should work for a two-hour play, but perhaps its very simplicity is its success. We get to know these people and their quirks and mannerisms along a generally visual series of scenes. There is dialogue, but very little. This is practically a silent movie on stage.
There is a remarkable number of characters in this play, all played by just five actors. This is an incredible feat and it is perhaps only at the end of the first act that you might realise there are just five performers, as they create in this hotel sequence a constant flow of a scene with seven characters with actors Valentina Ceschi and Martin Bassindale taking the challenge of keeping two characters in the scene. Ceschi especially here visibly plays two characters at the same time, with help, occasionally, from one arm of Bassindale. It is a brilliantly clever little scene.
The scenes vary in their success with the opening airport sequence clever initially, with the escalator and moving walkway gags fun at first, but eventually overused with the onslaught of so many characters. However, while some scenes perhaps like this, linger too long, some are perfect. Both the Expo scene and the restaurant scenes are sublime in their inventiveness, duration and comic-timing. If the whole play was as tight as these, this would have five stars written all over it, as they truly are superb.
The cast, comprising the aforementioned Ceschi and Bassindale, alongside Enoch Lwanga, Yuyu Rau and Abigail Dooley, are amazing, only ever on stage to morph into a different costume and character. Rau is a delight as Barbara especially, enticing the charms of Lwanga’s Mr Hulot, providing perhaps the strongest part of the wafer thing story in their burgeoning romance. Lwanga’s Mr Hulot, the definitive Tati character, offer a clownish, almost childish performance, totally innocent, who we meet at the very beginning when he blows a couple of balloons up before passing into the play at curtain up. Lwanga is excellent in this and all his roles, offering a look of befuddlement and some thoughtful, simple, facial expressions.
Ceschi’s highlights include the aforementioned double character of a hotel maid and glamourous Parisian in the hotel scene, and her immensely comical turn of an increasingly drunk waiter. Dooley has a long series of strong characterisations including the baggage-addled passenger onto her humorous turn as Maitre D’.
Completing the cast is the incredible Bassindale, perhaps, if there is, in such a strong cast, the star of theshow. He has a visual impact on every character he creates and is brilliant as the cat-seeking character and the rudest of scene stealers in the dance sequence, he has the moves. Quite brilliant.
The set from Michael Vale, who is also responsible for the delightful array of costumes, looks delightfully cartoonish which provides the perfect setting, and my only issue was a slight irritation that some of the sets from the flys just had an irritating habit of never stopping swinging. If only that hotel window had reached the floor. The music selections throughout the show also perfectly fit the production, they are catchy and annoying maybe, but oddly just right.
Playtime is simply put a delightful piece of theatre, full of charm and beauty in its simplicity. A show that you can just lay back in your seat, not have to overthink and fall into the madness of it all.
Relish this brilliant piece of theatre while you can, absorb its charm into your soul and bottle it for any bad days.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Performance reviewed: Wednesday 7th September 2022 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.
Playtime runs at Royal & Derngate until Sunday 17th September 2022.
For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Production photos: Manuel Harlan
