Review
I must say that I was a little dubious about this play even before I entered the Duke of York theatre on a warm evening last Tuesday
The last time I watched a Simon Craven play the audience was expected to join the actors on the stage and watch a live recording of a football match
That was all
The experience was quite unique
But not all unique experiences are fun
And sadly Nebraska in Deal fits the bill
If anything it is a great deal more oblique than his previous play
Again the audience is on the stage
But some are sat in the auditorium seats
Watching proceedings on a number of monitors
For all those who have attended board meetings
Nebraska in Deal explores the boredom and tensions in great detail
This large company is run by the autocratic Simon Craven whose word he likes to think is law
But as in real life it is not and for the first hour the previous years performance is discussed in detail
It is meant to be tedious and it is
And that is when the first surprise is revealed
Members of the audience are invited to stay overnight in a hotel in Norwich and watch a live stream of the annual board meeting the following day
The only qualification is that they must know a girl/woman named Sarah Tell
Needless to say apart from a few audience members who were up for an odd experience there were few takers
Although I was told that four people took up the challenge and spent a night in the Clarendon Hotel in Norwich
The audience in the first hour is asked to sit on the stage facing the members of the board and vote for or against certain motions
Later they are gifted chairs
With the actors improvising all kinds of odd motions were either passed or kicked into touch
These motions range from what colour ties the senior members of the board should wear to whether a substantial investment from China should be entertained
The actress Sarah Tell who plays Simon Craven’s Senior PA Sarah Tell has the busiest time passing all kind of glossy reports to anybody who wants one
I received one of these Annual Reports and they are very lifelike as if the company Nebraska in Deal is a real company and not a fictional one
It is although rather strange to say the least a unique idea which I have never come across in a theatre before
And then the play takes a rather troubling turn as all of a sudden the stage lights lights are dimmed and Sarah Tell (who took a toilet break) returns wearing just an old dressing gown and decrepit pyjamas
These appear to have cartoons of the late Bruce Lee printed on them
She flops on to a bed which was brought on to the stage in the half light and pours herself a glass of wine and then another and another and another
Whether the actress is sozzled or not is open to question
Ms Tell then starts a monologue to match that of Molly Bloom in Ulysses
If anything it is more explicit than Molly’s monologue and some of the detail cannot be easily discussed in a family newspaper
The actress weeps openly and farts (optionally) and then argues with members of the audience and other actors using explicit language and insults
It is an extraordinary performance from this actress who was last seen as Miranda at The Globe
The triggers of her grief are too many to count but her main beef is that Simon Craven has some peculiar sexual tastes and expects her to share his passions
If she refuses then her senior post is in danger
Sarah has a very sick mother in a nursing home in Norwich and she breaks her explicit monologue to ring a fellow actor in the city and requests that they and a member of the audience visit her mother at their leisure
This sleight of hand caught at least this reviewer off guard as it is known that Sarah’s mother is indeed in a nursing home in Norwich
After about forty minutes the monologue is silenced when a red light flashes next to the actress
She rises from her scruffy bed and leaves the stage inviting a random member of the audience to take her place
As this happens six identically dressed women arrive on the stage
They stand in from of the board members and are asked their names
Sarah Tell Sarah Tell Sarah Tell Sarah Tell Sarah Tell Sarah Tell
If you get my drift
They are being interviewed for Sarah Tell’s vacant position
This is deliberately tedious with bog standard questions and bog standard answers
Candidate number three is then selected and sits in Sarah Tell’s vacant seat
She takes notes and little else
At about this time after over three hours of bum numbing tedium/excitement (whatever your view) the play is halted and the board meeting is suspended as a vote of no confidence has been tabled against Simon Craven which will take place at three thirty the following day
I will not spoil the surprise other than noting that a member of the audience is asked to accompany Craven to his home in Richmond
When this play suspends itself all the actors and the members of the audience are wined and dined in the auditorium
With the exception of the lead actress who has totally vanished
I was sent out to Leicester Square tube station to see if I could see her
As you can guess I returned empty handed
The playwright in his programme notes explains that both he and the theatre want to lose money on the production
That is the raison d’etre of the whole thing
Nebraska in Deal runs for the next three weeks on Mondays and Fridays only (for obvious reasons)
Mr Craven’s play is challenging to say the least and at times is very uncomfortable as the audience is part of the play and some of the tears are real
A colleague who I will not name wept openly during Sarah’s monologue and had to leave the stage
Her tears were real believe me
If you are strong enough then I urge you to see Nebraska in Deal as it is unlike anything else in London at the moment
It is an amazing experience