Embrace and enjoy as Harrogate Dramatic Society delivers spectacular production of ribald Jerusalem
Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth has received many plaudits since its inaugural performance in 2009, including “one of the best dramas of the twenty-first century”.
It may, therefore, seem an ambitious challenge for any dramatic society to take on but Harrogate Dramatic Society, under the skilful direction of Dermot Hill, met that challenge in spectacular fashion at its opening night at Harrogate Theatre.
From the haunting sound of Phaedra, Lottie Brown, singing the opening words of Blake’s paean to an English utopia as the play began to the litany of ancestral names conjured up by Rooster Byron as the play closed, this was a collective performance of great strength and intensity.
Into a set which beautifully juxtaposed the bucolic loveliness of the Wiltshire countryside with the squalor of Rooster’s encampment burst Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron himself, played with extraordinary energy and swagger by Gary Bowman.
One of the many highlights of this production was seeing the development of this Falstaffian storyteller and wordsmith – not to mention drug dealer and petty crook – into a complex and, at times, extremely vulnerable and conflicted outsider.
Providing a perfect foil to Rooster’s excesses was the ever-loyal Ginger, a local plumber and wannabe DJ compellingly realised by James Wilstrop, who brought great conviction and pathos to a character who desperately wants to fit in but is often overlooked and feels himself marginalised. Both actors gave stand-out performances which never wavered in commitment and sincerity.
These central performances were ably supported by the motley crew who gather in Byron’s encampment to while away their time in mainly illegal pursuits.
Clayton Monteiro gave a nuanced rendition of Lee, bound for Australia but still feeling the pull of home, with Dylan Powell bringing subtlety to what might be regarded as the slighter role of Davey.
Red Haughton-Fisk and Katie Gray were convincing as the under-age acolytes Tanya and Pea and Parker Melenas was winsome in his largely unspoken interactions as Rooster’s son Marky. Special mention should go here to Kate Button as Dawn, Rooster’s erstwhile partner, who brought presence to a character who can feel under-developed in lesser hands.
Chris Winstanley brought humour to the hapless Wesley, the local landlord who barred Rooster yet still comes in search of something from his seemingly endless ‘pharmacy’ to get him through a day’s Morris dancing at the fair.
One of the joys of the evening was seeing Wesley become more assured as the performance progressed and this development will surely continue.
Bill Laughey played the Professor with just the right degree of confused amiability and Mark Nicholls and his thugs exuded hypocritical menace.
Bookending the play, Jemma Bunting and Elaine Roberts do sterling work as Ms Parsons and Ms Fawcett, the council enforcement officers responsible for securing Byron’s ultimate eviction from his rural idyll and confidently disabusing him of his notion that he enjoyed local support.
While it may be just another eviction for them, for Rooster it is the destruction of his world. On opening night, Elaine Roberts was too unwell to perform and Lucy Gradwell stepped out from her usual role of assistant stage manager to deputise most convincingly, despite having to read the script entirely from her official-looking clipboard.
This funny, vivid and complex play presents its audience with big questions amongst a swirl of allusions to the mythology of ancient Albion and Blake’s vision, to the giants who were here before humans and built Stonehenge. The humour is rich and the language is ribald – embrace and enjoy.
Jerusalem is on at Harrogate Theatre on Saturday October 17 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
Tickets on 01423 502116 and online at https://www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk/