The Lesson

Published Thursday 9 October 2008 at 12:35 by Thom Dibdin

Often assigned to an end of evening frippery, Ionesco’s early one-acter is given a rare solo outing by Benchtours on what is likely to be its valedictory tour. Smoothly evolving performances and strong attention to period detail in the design ensure that director Gerry Mulgrew can give the play’s absurdist development the strongest possible legs on which to stand.

Peter Clerke is excellent as the doddering old professor, quite reasonably assessing the arithmetic acumen of his latest pupil. Kirstin McLean is beautifully nuanced as said silly, over-aspirational girl who can memorise an infinity of multiplications but fails to grasp the basic principle of subtraction.

As the lesson turns to philology, and the professor’s expounding of his dogmatic beliefs causes toothache in his pupil, Clerke finds the sinister and McLean the sensual in their characters. There could be more direct correlation between the two, and McLean could afford to increase the pupil’s sexualisation much earlier. But that would be to forewarn an audience cued, by strange music and a near clowning performance technique, into believing that Catherine Gillard as the maid will be the source of surprise.

Jason Southgate’s design and Christine Ross’ costumes set this clearly in mid-20th century Continental Europe, making the production’s logical reading as the conventional one of Ionesco’s condemnation of Fascism. Given the funding decisions that have brought Benchtours to this terminal position, however, it is tempting to read this as condemnation of a dogmatic arts administration, forcing its clients to follow increasing insane doctrines and eventually killing them with cuts. Whichever might be true, it is a worthy memory of a constantly inventive company.