(Based on Jack Kerouac)
At Continental Cafe Nov 15 & 16, 1995
Reviewed by Kate Herbert on 8 November 1995 for The Melbourne Times
The Beatification of Sal Paradise (aka Kerouac) has managed to successfully transfer Kerouac's words from the page. We see his maleness, his ego, his stream of consciousness, his inability to communicate in the real world, his collection of lunatics and post-war misfits, with or without talent.
The abiding tragedy in Kerouac's On the Road was the credo that a life of booze, drugs and whores was romantic. It made a psychotic of Neal Cassady, and an alcoholic misogynist of Kerouac. (AKA Sal Paradise)
But could Jack's extraordinary words have been so bitter and beautiful if he'd written about daffodils? (Tip-tap of Remington). His language is all. We can feel his "end of the continent sadness" and see his "puffy-eyed motel blondes".
"What's your road?" asks wild boy, Dean (bass line), whose drugged jittering and deluded ramblings pulsate with the New York he loved. Kerouac's outward silence and inner monologues reflect the mists of San Francisco where he later spent so much time with the other Beats. (Click fingers).
The simplicity of the production and sparseness of its staging were extremely successful. Three chairs provide every stage setting and the actors almost dance amongst them. Additionally, Lawrence Ricks provides a persistent background presence with live bass.
My main criticism is its lack of weight and dynamic range. It moves at much the same pace for over an hour. These guys lived hard and fast with time out for unconsciousness. My second is the numerous false endings, particularly if you don't know the novel.
Paul Bonet makes a good fist of Sal and Simon-Peter Fahey is suitably wired, albeit less substantial, than the real Dean. Other cast members were strong, but I was most impressed (always am) by Richard Neale who was subtle, laconic and perfectly underplayed as William Burroughs.
Kate Herbert
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