Diary of a Madman
Silo Theatre
Review: Susan Budd
Crawford Thomson, the new director of the Silo Theatre, has placed himself centre-stage for Silo's first production of the year, performing Nikolai Gogol's black comedy with gentle humour and pathos.
Though first published in 1835, Diary of a Madman is timely in its evocation of a man's descent into madness. Schizophrenia would now be the diagnosis of an illness which, according to the programme notes, affects 1 per cent of the world's population.
The play is not, however, a clinical chronicle charting the progress of dementia, and it raises laughter as often as pity.
The Madman is a civil service clerk in Tsarist Russia, locked into a mind-numbingly boring job. He has escaped from his peasant roots into the pitiful world of the petit bourgeoisie, but on a subsistence wage he cannot fulfil his aspirations to a better life.
Marginalised, he is caught between two worlds, unable to rise to the ranks of the aristocrats who employ him or return to the village of his birth. He can only yearn for the exquisite daughter of the director of his department. Is it surprising that his mind gives way under the strain and isolation?
He becomes obsessed with dogs, convinced that they are more intelligent than their owners, and in a very funny scene reads their letters.
Ironically, they only serve to prove that his faith is misplaced and, worse still, reveal their owner's perceptions of him as an ungainly scarecrow.
Finally, he discovers his true majesty - he is the King of Spain. Such vaunting ambition places him in the madhouse, where he is subjected to brutality and torture in the name of treatment.
Thomson portrays a likeable character who, rather than a raving lunatic, is a man driven deep into delusion by the imprisoning circumstances of his life. A little more light and shade could make his performance more effective. And the pace of Mark Clare's production is somewhat even, requiring more speed at times.
Sean Coyle's set is simple and effective, with obliquely placed screens allowing some scenes to be played in silhouette. Ian Flynn's lighting evokes atmosphere with flair.
<i>Theatre:</i> Diary of a Madman
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