Review: Clockwork

Alex Mullarky’s ‘Clockwork’ is a piece of theatre as detailed and delicately structured as its namesake. Unfortunately, the plot progressed with an almost imperceptible tick, and was at times in severe danger of running down or stopping altogether.

The elegant set was almost painterly in execution, from the bruise coloured sky of the backdrop, to the coils of barbed wire unspooling along the boundaries of No-Man’s Land. Small touches such as the whisky decanter, Manon’s bread basket and Will’s exquisite pocket watch further allowed the audience to invest in the world Mullarky had created.  The costumes were similarly thoughtful, the officers displayed in utilitarian shades of brown and green, Manon’s rusty-toned shawl and skirt complimenting the uniforms but also marking her out as local to the area.

The characters of Will (Cooper Goldman) and Manon (Caterina Giammarresi) were easily the most fleshed out in the script; though Calder Hudson and David Norris did well in provoking pathos for the fates of officers Bailey and Lawrence, despite the latter’s slightly unpredictable and to me unfathomable yokel accent.  Speaking of accents, I was impressed with the consistency of Goldman’s stoic British, which barely faltered. Giammarresi also mastered a decent French accent (and crucially, mannerisms) without descending into ‘Allo Allo’ territory.  The more peripheral character of Peat was deftly handled by the quietly authoritarian Lewis Harding, who conveyed his higher status with a buttoned up swagger.  Miller (Dominic Kimberlin) – who I could not help but think of as the Baldrick character of the trench, albeit more intelligent and probably a better cook – was understated and subtle, with Kimberlin providing a nuanced performance which occasionally fell into gentle humour over Miller’s nonplussed reaction to Manon.

However, there were some perceptible flaws with the production. The running time of two hours without an interval was perhaps an unwise decision; concentration flagging significantly in the second hour due to the lack of a break, but also the decidedly leisurely progress of the plot. There were some beautifully poetic passages; however in general the play could have used an unsentimental cut, as some scenes outstayed their welcome. Often, I found myself more engaged with the card games being played than the tribulations of the characters playing. The acoustic nightmare of Venue 1 proved to be as disruptive as ever.

As a vision, Mullarky’s creation of the bullet-ridden, war-torn French village of Hiboux is admirably complete. The tenderness between the main characters was uncontrived. However, an edit for concision was sorely missed.

Clockwork continues at the Union tonight at 7.30pm, you’d be a fool to miss it!