In a theatre year already plentiful with one-person shows, NT and RSC stalwart Greg Hicks is currently in North West London with The Dream of a Ridiculous Man.
Writer-director Laurence Boswell has relocated Dostoyevsky’s 1877 short story to London and updated its vernacular to create a sometimes ponderous and often expletive-laded play about life, death and the nature of man.
Despite Loren Einstein’s design and Ben Ormerod’s lighting, The Death of a Ridiculous Man doesn’t quite flicker into life as it should. Gary Sefton’s surround sound is deeply atmospheric, but I felt it overpowered Hicks’s delivery now and then.
Projected images, hidden lights, and spotlights help to bolster this curious story of a man who feels ridiculous in his skin and seeks a way out. As he dreams of an island paradise, it becomes a place where all humanity’s evils and mistakes multiply.
Dostoyevsky’s work is often sharply absurd, rich political allegories which suggest that pre-Great War Russia was far from utopia.
Boswell takes the lead from this and speculates on the harm we do to the world, whether through bar fights, fake news, climate pollution, or just not considering the needs of others.
Hicks, whether hauling around his suitcase, toying with oblivion, or making repetitive movements on the dull routine of life (Gary Sefton’s movement direction is exquisite), proves his worth as a fine actor, as well as a honed sense of mimicry.
I do feel this performance might have worked in a more intimate house like Jermyn Street or the Finborough, but I appreciate the tech elements thrive best in a mid-scale house like Marylebone.
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man transfers well to the stage, but I didn’t feel it suited Hackney or the brawling Scots neighbour. That said, an unexpected lifting love song was welcome enough and gave our unnamed protagonist a sense of the romantic.
A play that reaches out and needles expectations, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is a production I am glad to see performed, but it lacks the teeth to really snap at the world we have and the world we could be. Maybe.
You can see The Dream of a Ridiculous Man at the Marylebone Theatre until 20 Apr with tickets here.
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Image credit: Mark Senior