The Cut
Sir
Ian McKellen, Deborah Findlay, Jimmy Akinbolla, Tom Burke
Written by: Mark Ravenhill
Director: Michael Grandage
Liverpool Playhouse
April 20th, 2006
 |
SIR IAN McKELLEN
in 'THE
CUT'
Impeccably timed, acerbically witty and faultlessly performed, The
Cut is, quite possibly, the 1984 for a new generation that
tells the story of a government civil servant, Paul (McKellen), who has
been given the task of administrating an "immobilising" surgical
procedure to the underclass. In short, Paul decides who gets butchered
and who doesn't and that he does this with seeming reluctance is immaterial.
That Paul's wife, Susan, played superbly by Deborah Findlay, is suspicious
though otherwise unaware of her husband's job only enhances Paul's personality
in that he must lie and counter-lie in order to keep his secret and so
brings the "darkness" of his character shining through.
This is an extraordinary new play that is in turns gripping, dark, thought-provoking
and discomforting enough to rival anything written by Orwell and brings
performances that sparkle from all those concerned. The acidity dripping
from Ravenhill's script is both disconcertingly serious and laugh-out-loud
funny as bureaucracy begins to strangle the system and so, inevitably,
brings the "ruling" class down to be replaced by another set
of bureaucrats promising "change".
And it is not just the delivery of the
lines, some of the best of which are reserved for Paul and Susan's son,
Stephen (Burke), but also the bodily angst and facial contortion with
which each word left unsaid is delivered. Rarely has a meal eaten in
total silence portrayed so much mistrust and resentment.
A story of betrayal? Certainly. A story of deceit? Definitely. But The Cut is also a story of morality that transcends time with a sleight of hand that is as admirable as it is worthy and demonstrates that history is very rarely learned from.
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break the rules as I see fit.” - Chris High 2003.