The Stage

Tiny Kushner

Published Monday 6 September 2010 at 12:25 by Jeremy Austin

It’s the sharpness of the writing that powers through this British premiere of five short plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Tony Kushner.

There is such clarity conveyed not just in the language but in the rhythm and the nuance. Ideas and phrases honey drip from the script. Listening is an indulgence. This is enriched by the four strong performances from the small cast.

That said, there is less coherence of the overall theme of these five short, one act plays, meaning that while they can be enjoyed individually, there is less enjoyment to be had in trying to extract some overall meaning - a theme of ambivalence, possibly, ironically - in relationships, in ambitions and in the American dream.

Annie Smart’s clever set design, with solid blocks of white printed with texts relevant to the plays that then have images projected on to them, is both economical and effective without being too clever or overbearing.

In East Coast Ode to Howard Jarvis, Kushner plays on his reputation for experimentation with form and use of shorter scenes, self-consciously presenting the story of tax-dodging New York cops as a tele-play.

In both Flip Flop Fly! and Dr Arnold A Hutschnecker in Paradise, he presents his characters after death, reflecting on the contradictions of life - our view of ourselves, how others see us, what our dreams actually meant.

But it is in Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall Be Happy, that his power as a political writer comes to the fore as Laura Bush re-appraises her relationship with Dostoevsky while reading The Brothers Karamazov to dead Iraqi children.

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