![]() ![]() The play is interspersed with moment of sheer brilliance. It is left to Joan Potter to take the vital role of the maid, to be the observer to the atrocities. He looks the part which makes his slow rise to a cold savagery even more powerful, it is barely noticeable until it is too late. It works well in counterpoint to Roger Alborough who is every inch the learned professor. Sheetal Kapoor as the pupil gives her emotions a hyper reality to very near lampooning the role. Whether this dilutes the worth of the piece is for audiences to decide. ![]() More current worries of knife crime and #metoo patriarchal domination can easily be read into the play. ![]() First produced in Paris in 1951, the themes concern themselves with the ideology of fascism and its appalling outcomes. ![]() The knowing maid returns, with a warning to the professor, which affirms that something dreadful is about to happen. Now, the professor’s lesson becomes more sinister as he exerts his control. A change in the relationship comes about when the pupil has a toothache. As the lesson progresses the professor, is dismayed to find that his new pupil has learnt everything by rote and has difficulty with abstract thinking, finding it impossible to understand the concept of subtraction. The pupil arrives, her desire to learn written large on her face, and the maid leaves her to work with the professor. As we enter the space, we see the maid cleaning the table. Parker takes us into a curious and ridiculous world, at once comic and disturbing. Ionesco’s THE LESSON with its satirical and absurdist content, is finely balanced. THE LESSON by Eugene Ionesco The Hope Theatre until 13 October 2018 ‘ … interspersed with moments of sheer brilliance’ ★★★★ Director Matthew Parker makes brave choices in bringing challenging plays to the stage. ![]()
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