Mockingbird Theatre present another powerful production of an important play, Argentinean writer Manuel Puig’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman, confirming the company’s blooming reputation as theatre-makers of calibre.
Kiss of the Spiderwoman is a fabulous script, with a beautiful arc concerning the evolving bond of tenderness between two men who are practically opposites of each other. Director Chris Baldock has Angelo de Cata and Adam Ward present dignified, finely realised performances as Molina and Valentin, two inmates sharing a prison cell in 1950’s Argentina. They are reflections of each other, both oppressed, both trapped, both doomed.
Gay man Molina lets his imagination soar as he relates plot-lines of romantic movies, referencing Mexican films from the 40s and 50s, to keep himself and the Marxist revolutionary Valentin from collapsing under boredom, terror and despair. There are resonances of the folk tale of Scherazade as Molina’s fantasy films become more complicated and intriguing and Valentin becomes increasingly dependent on his cell mate. The play snap-freezes an instant in the political climate of revolt and betrayal; a two-hander where the world outside menaces the lives of the prisoners as they meander the dream world of the silver screen.
Novelist and screenwriter Puig, an openly gay man himself, consistently informed his work with the glamorous culture of cinema as his characters explore means of escape from oppression. The stage version of Kiss of the Spiderwoman was adapted by Puig from his novel of the same name, a book he said he found easy to write. Baldock has set the play in the 1950s instead of the 70s, offsetting any charge of stereotyping of the characters, which some have seen in the play. The attitudes of the prisoners towards homosexuality are typical of the time; how Molina defines himself and how Valentin sees Molina’s sexuality comprise a slice of gay cultural history that tells us how far we’ve come (at least in some countries). The story allows both men to transcend the conventional male personas imposed on them.
The two actors give heartbreaking performances, Ward’s Valentin shudders with anger and intensity, yet his moments of subtlety tell us when he’s lying. De Cato’s kind-hearted yet compromised Molina is stunning; he’s touching in his compassion and sensitivity to the hyper-masculine Valentin. Both men hold the stage with mesmerising performances and you’re very close to them in the Owl and Pussycat space; interestingly, the sex scene is the only time you don’t entirely believe them. The set works beautifully. Lighting designer Douglas Montgomery deserves a mention, but the whole Mockingbird Theatre crew have put together a memorable and very, very moving show.
Rating: 3 ¾ stars out of 5
Mockingbird Theatre present
Kiss of the Spiderwoman
By Manual Puig
Directed by Chris Baldock
Cast: Adam Ward and Angelo De Cata
The Owl and the Pussycat, Richmond
6 – 15 September
