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Theatre

London,

Drunk Enough To Say I Love You?

Description: An in-house production of Caryl Churchill's contemporary play about a pair of homosexual lovers. Directed by Hester Chillingworth.



Rating: 5 out of 5 Nicholas de Jongh's rating
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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Dir: Hester Chillingworth.

Cast: Arch 468 Theatre

Jerwood Theatre At The Royal Court Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS

Phone: 0207565 5000

Website: www.royalcourttheatre.com

Email: info@royalcourttheatre.com

Extra info: Pub, Food, Party Hire

Transport: Tube: Sloane Square Transport for London , Tube / Bus: 11, 19, 22, 137, 211, 319, 360, C1 Transport for London

A very special relationship

Punch Drunk: astonishing theatre
Punch Drunk: astonishing theatre

By Nicholas de Jongh
23 Nov 2006


What shock appeal Caryl Churchill's latest flight into theatrical fantasy generates! Two male lovers - one prepared to leave his wife and children for his new, special relationship - sit on a sofa, talking of foreign affairs as America has violently practised them from Vietnam to today.

They go no further than gazing into each other's eyes, a little mutual knee touching and, once, one rests his head in the other's lap. This, though, is a politically motivated allegory, a theatrical depth charge, a tirade against the thrust of America's foreign policy and Tony Blair's obsequious support of George Bush in Iraq.

Inspired by cartoonists, stand-up comedians and commentators who have likened Blair's relationship with Bush to a love affair, Churchill takes an imaginative leap into allegorical fantasy. In Drunk Enough To Say I Love You?, Stephen Dillane impressively plays diffident, charming Jack, as in Union Jack, who becomes sexually captivated by Ty Burrell's riveting, hunky, fearful Sam, as in America's Uncle Sam, who is half in love with torture too.

Jack voices his support for a host of our allies' interventions abroad and reveals himself bound, ideologically not literally, in a sado-masochistic relationship-with his lover. He echoes his Master's Voice on America's decades long programme of dirty tricks abroad - the black propaganda, policy changes over Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein, not to mention gases, poisons, torture programmes and bombs assisting these ventures.

He vainly tries to escapes his lover's domination, going home after daring to disagree on Israel, but abjectly returns to offer "the total commitment" demanded of him. When, however, Jack challenges Sam's laissez-faire policy over global warming and the American is left vainly chanting "love me, you have to love me", the spell is broken.

Churchill makes this relationship of control and submission serve as a scathing analogy and critique of Blair's attitude to America. The black comedy might, however, have seemed a monotonously one-sided tirade, had not Churchill written it in fascinatingly strange, elliptic speech, fragmentary, incomplete phrases of telegraphese. You need listen closely to understand.

In James MacDonald's beautifully composed and acted production, the sofa on which the men sit, is suspended in the air, as if suggesting - not only when Sam feeds Jack cocaine - that the men float high above reality's hold. An astonishing piece of theatre.

• Closes 22 December. Information 020 7565 5000.

Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.

Reader views (6)

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What complete rubbish!

- Adam Williams, Highgate, 18/12/2006 12:08
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It was so bad, I left after 30 minutes. The whole thing was irritating, badly acted and the script extremely poor. As there is no story, you don't care about the characters. A number of people had said that this was terrible, but I wanted to believe the reviewers. I was wrong. It appeals to the type of theatre-goer that "thinks" they SHOULD like this but won't know why. Pretentious rubbish.

- John Davidson, London, 30/11/2006 08:51
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Challenging, unique and compelling. If you want escapism you'd better stay on the sofa at home. Uncomfortable and unnerving - exactly what theatre should be providing us with. I will be seeing it again.

- William Marshall, Highbury, London, 29/11/2006 11:33
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Bad Bad Bad. What can I say? This was a painful 45 minutes. It starts off as merely confusing and then becomes annoying. It is officially the worst play I have EVER seen.

It doesnt work on any level and I was very jealous of the 2 ladies who escaped about half of the way through. Can I sue someone for the lost 45 minutes of my life?

The Evening Standard reviewer must have seen a different play.

- Stephen Chapman, London, 28/11/2006 08:21
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Awful. Embarrassingly poor. 45 minutes of hell - the whole audience were shuffling in their seats with embarrassment. The "hook" that they rarely finished sentences was simply annoying.

- Phillip, London, 28/11/2006 06:44
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Marvelous, incisive, original. Churchill at her best

- Joe Harter, alvescot, u.k., 23/11/2006 15:33
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