What was all the fuss about?! I’m sorry but I just wasn’t a fan of Marius Von Mayenburg’s THE UGLY ONE, (translation by Maja Zade), the Stables final show for the year.
In the pre-publicity the show was described as, ‘a pitch perfect black comedy and scalpel-sharp social satire about identity and contemporary narcissism’. I wasn’t convinced.
The narrative is slight and derivative. Eden Falk plays Lette, a twenties something guy who is basically very ugly. He isn’t deformed say in the way of the ELEPHANT MAN, but just damned ugly. Everyone tells him so, including heartlessly his less than tactful wife along with his work manager. Lette is the inventor of a fancy new kind of electrical plug. His work boss tells him that he is just too ugly for him to allow him to be the company’s presenter and representative at an upcoming Swiss Convention.
Lette and his wife decide to consult a cosmetic surgeon with a massive reputation. They go ahead with surgery. The result is that the ugly man Lette turns into an irresistibly handsome man. His wife has a new problem; women are hopelessly attracted to him and queue up to be with him and men just want to be like him.
There are some more twists and turns in the narrative but have you get the idea, THE UGLY ONE is a play about identity, and the overwhelming pressure that exists to fit in with society.
I have seen much sharper renditions of this theme than in this Mayenburg’s offering. Many of the plays of the Theatre Of The Absurd movement carried this theme and with much more incisiveness. Also coming to mind is the 1987 film CRAZY LOVE, based on a Charles Bukowski novella, that had much more flair and black humour to it.
Sarah Giles production of the play is impressive enough. The actors get to play some quirky characters:- Jacinta Acevski playing a variety of characters from a bitchy wife to outrageously flirtatious women. Gig Clarke plays an envious work colleague, Eden Falk as the main character Lette who finds himself on a hapless journey. Jo Turner plays the power hungry cosmetic surgeon.
There are some clever lighting touches by Tom Willis, Michael Hankin’s set features an all round sofa, and Caitlin Porter’s score is suitably quirky.
An Arts Radar and Griffin Independent Sydney Premiere Production , THE UGLY ONE opened at the SBW Stables theatre, 10 Nimrod Street, Kings Cross on Friday 25th November and plays until Saturday 17th December, 2011.
(c) David Kary
27th November, 2011
Tags:- THE UGLY ONE, Marius Von Mayenburg, SBW Stables theatre, Sarah Giles, Michael Hankin, Tom Willis, Caitlin Porter, Jacinta Acevski, Gig Clarke, Eden Falk, Jo Turner, Patrick Boland.