Les Parents Terribles at Dundee Rep

Jun 17 2008 by Alison Anderson

THE HEADY heights which on Sunday gained Dundee Rep four of Scotland’s theatre critic awards has unfortunately not been maintained in the ensemble’s current production, Les Parents Terribles by Jean Cocteau, adapted by Jeremy Sams.

There is no doubting the extremely high standard of acting from the five-strong cast; it is the choice of play which is the weak link.

Written in 1938 Les Parents Terribles tells the story of a dysfunctional Parisian family. It was no doubt a ground-breaker of its time, but that time has passed and we now live in the age of Soaps where storylines similar to the histrionics of the family under Cocteau’s microscope are broadcast ad infinitum.

Thus this diatribe of an unpleasant bunch of characters comes over merely as a melodrama with very little depth and an abundance of words.

Ann Louise Ross is Yvonne, a self-centred, neurotic mother who has an overly-possessive, Oedipal relationship with her 22-year-old son, Michael (Kevin Lennon). Her husband, George (John Buick) is left out in the cold, but finds plenty of warmth in the nest of his secretary, Madeleine (Emily Winter). Problems arise when Michael announces his love for Madeleine. Adding to the emotional turmoil is Yvonne’s spinster sister, Leo (Irene MacDougall) who harbours an unrequited love for George.

Director and designer Stewart Laing extracts powerful performances from the cast, but overall the production fails to fully engage with the audience.

The impressive Ayckbourn-esque set is split level –the family’s dark flat symbolising their claustrophobic lives set below the stark contrast of the brightness (the white walls rather sore on the eyes) of Madeleine’s flat and promise of escape for Michael from the suffocating web spun by his mother.

Les Parents Terribles continues at Dundee Rep until Saturday.