Samuel Beckett takes to the streets in Jermyn Street Theatre’s new dramatisation of Cascando, originally a radio play written by the Irish wordsmith in the 1960s. Director Gavin Quinn’s production has the audience don monk-like cloaks and wander solemnly through the alleyways of Westminster while listening to an audio recording of the actors. It’s as bizarre as it sounds, and not to great effect.
The main thing Cascando has going for it is obviously Beckett’s script. The man became one of Ireland’s favourite sons (and a Nobel laureate to boot) for good reason, and Cascando shows off his unquestionable talents. The plot (if there is one) is abstract and elusive, overlapping unnamed voices reflect on storytelling, endings, and a weary pursuit of the ambiguous ‘Woburn’. The narrative isn’t really important here, rather, it’s about the haunting atmosphere and sense of dread Beckett creates with his hypnotic lyricism. It’s beautiful to listen to, especially thanks to wonderful voice performances by Daniel Reardon and Andrew Bennett.
The problem really is the rather ambitious choice to force the audience up out of their seats and into the real world (complete with ominous costumes). The originality of the idea is admirable, and on paper it does make some sense as a neat metaphor for the text, the steady pace of walking in formation could be said to mimic the rhythm of Beckett’s poetry.
But experimenting with the form of theatre, an undoubtedly worthy pursuit, really only works if it enhances the original story. Unfortunately in Cascando this isn’t the case, with the bizarre staging merely distracting from the play itself. Beckett’s writing is obtuse and hard to parse, that’s the very joy of it. But it’s impossible to give it the full attention it deserves when you’re getting photographed outside a Pret because you’re dressed like a wizard, or trying not to get hit by a Deliveroo driver while crossing the street with your hood up. If the aim is immersion, the sheer awkwardness of the whole affair has the opposite effect.
This production might be a little like marmite. It’s entirely possible Cascando will appeal to die-hard Beckett aficionados, or fans of experimental theatre with a high tolerance for the eccentric. But for the average punter it’s likely to be simply too awkward to do justice to the source material. All credit to Quinn and co for swinging for the fences, but this one is a swing and a miss.
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