Terry Johnson’s Insignificance, directed by David Mercatali, is enjoying a timely revival at the Arcola Theatre, with the playwrights daughter taking the starring role. A little like that game, where you choose a few famous people, living or dead, to invite to a dinner party, we enjoy the company of four famous faces coming together in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Set in the early 1950’s, Insignificance imagines a scenario where four icons of the twentieth century meet in a hotel room. They are never actually named, not even in the programme, but even now, almost two full decades through the twenty-first century, they are instantly recognisable.
Fresh from filming that iconic scene in ‘The Seven Year Itch’, Marilyn Monroe calls upon Albert Einstein to discuss the theory of relativity, hotly pursued by her husband and baseball legend, Joe DiMaggio. But, there’s already been a Caller to room 614, Senator Joe McCarthy wants Einstein to testify to the Un-American Activities Committee.
In various combinations the characters discuss life; they are all battling their own demons and skirt around the issues they face, preferring to discuss each other’s woes instead. While this meeting never actually happened, it often strikes as entirely plausible, and even the most far-fetched elements, such as how Einstein came to own his cat, is played for superb comic effect.
Written some thirty odd years ago, Insignificance is a play of its era; far more discursive and philosophical than it is narrative. Although, Johnson’s play doesn’t quite veer in to the realms of Stoppard; there is a storyline which makes some semblance of sense, but there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a lot of talking with not a lot happening. It does have a ‘Big Bang’ moment early in act two, where an unlikely trio band together, and stand up to the heavy hand of Government.
Perhaps the highlight of the play is to watch a breathless Monroe (Alice Bailey Johnson) explain the theory of relativity to Einstein (Simon Rouse) using two toy trains and a Charlie Chaplin doll. There are many who would argue that the actress, who was notoriously bad at remembering her lines, was actually very intelligent, and so you can enjoy the scene for its humor rather than looking for any hint of truth.
If Johnson has hinted at Stoppard, he’s taken a bigger leaf from Arthur Miller, and the latter’s play on McCarthyism, The Crucible, gets an honorable mention. The inclusion of McCarthy (Tom Mannion) provides an important insight to right wing propaganda, which is as relevant today as when this play was written. There’s a great scene where McCarthy and DiMaggio (Oliver Hembrough) debate, and the gulf between them is immediately apparent.
Max Dorey’s design strikes a balance, the hotel room looks suitably comfortable but not overly opulent, in line with the personality of the man staying there, although the whole set wobbles whenever there is a knock at the door. The floor to ceiling windows leading on to a balcony and fire escape create wonderful reflections, which when seen at a glance could convince you the protagonists were the real deal, yet for some reason the Manhattan skyline is conspicuous by its absence.
While some of the slightly off accents prove a little distracting, there are plenty of funny and insightful moments buried in the long periods of discourse. Insignificance is the type of play that inspires quiet reflection or heated debate, but doesn’t quite mange to solidify the illusion that it hopes to create.
