I Cyclops by Robert
McNamara
At La Mama until October 4, 1998
Reveiwed around Sept 23 1998
Cyclops is a sad old creature. He lives, blinded, on an
island off Sicily with only his flocks for company.in the absence of his
Cyclopian brothers.
American writer, Robert McNamara, in his comic-tragic
monologue, I Cyclops, has extrapolated on the one-eyed monster who is
encountered by Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. The giant, before his blinding at
the hands of the Greek sailors, is represented as a farcical figure who craves
company, is a virgin and delights in the ambrosia given to him by the cunning
marooned sailors.
William Gluth, directed by Malcolm Robertson, plays Cyclops
as a scruffy, crippled grumbler wearing a tail coat and John Lennon sunglasses.
He scuttles about the space, telling his tale of woe and bemoaning his fate.
with only a table and chair to assist him on his journey.
McNamara derives his comedy from the pastiche of styles
which works better at some times than others. There are snatches of Black American
songs and characters, bad puns and witty references. There are some vulgar gags
such as Cyclops' brothers being called Copraphilius, Necrophilius and
Prophilaxis.
Gluth works hard in this solo show and has some high points,
particularly when he plays the drunken Cyclops. His early nerviness gives way
to a more relaxed and funny performance in which he more fully inhabits the
giant, both vocally and physically. His comic timing is much better and his
performance less mannered than in early sections in which he seems less
connected with the character.
He peoples the stage with characters as he plays the group
of smarmy, devious sailors as well as Cyclops and other incidental characters.
McNamara's text is patchy and wanders towards the end. There
is a very odd interpolation of a court case in which "Dr. Cyclops" is
tried by a Germanic judge who seems to resemble Freud. It takes a long time to
reach the climax when Cyclops is blinded and there are unnecessary and unclear
detours on the way.
Malcolm Robertson's direction keeps this one hour play
simple and uncluttered. The tragedy of poor, lonely, blinded Cyclops is evident
in the production although it could be milked further. the balancing of the
grotesque,the comic and the dramatic is difficult but mostly effective.
By Kate Herbert
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