Rhinoceros is runaway hit
Eugène Ionesco’s 1959 play, Rhinoceros, is an underrated gem of post-war drama, and this revival has relevance to contemporary politics, society and human fears.
A small French town panics when first one, then more and more, rhinoceroses trample and stampede their way through the lives of bewildered residents.
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Hide AdThe community’s responses are comically varied, from dry philosophising and simple incredulity to passionate debate about whether the animals are one or two-horned, African or Asiatic – as if it really mattered.
There is a further twist as, one by one, the residents actually turn into rhinoceroses, until...
In a brave and unusual choice of play, Lancaster Footlights, under Greg Robertson’s taut direction, staged a fine, clear and witty production in the Storey’s intimate ground-floor Auditorium.
As Berenger, the ‘Everyman’ figure of the piece, Dan Butt gave a strong and nuanced performance as the deceptively dissipated hero.
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Hide AdHe was supported by a cast of ten others who portrayed the townsfolk with sympathy and not a little wry humour.
It was good to see the University of Cumbria’s Drama Department represented in the cast – again, because they were a significant presence in the recent Grand’s Footlights production of Alan Bennett’s The History Boys. This is a remarkable and commendable example of town and gown working together; something that Lancaster University and its theatre presence have been talking about for a while now, but seem to have done little about it. A shame – as the result can only be for the good of all parties. So again, full marks to The Grand for its often unsung achievements.
by Michael Nunn