I hadn’t ventured out to BAM in about 4 years until last night, which is shame because they really have some great shows. A lot of them, admittedly, are things that I have already seen in London (a trend that will be less true with time) or things that have sold out before I’ve had a chance to get tickets. They also have a slightly ageist rush policy, so I haven’t been able to try to go at the last minute to anything.
Last night, I met up with two friends I hadn’t seen in almost 9 months to see Creditors, a transfer from the Donmar Warehouse (can they do anything wrong?) directed by Alan Rickman* and translated by David Greig. It’s a darkly comic melodrama about relationships and jealousy and the art of moving on from one relationship to the next. Strindberg’s misogyny is pretty well-documented and it shows here, but in this production it’s a point of humor. I found myself laughing out loud fairly frequently and the slower parts only amped up the tension between the three characters (I won’t give anything away, because it’s rather well-crafted and I’d hate to spoil it). Rickman’s taut direction (documented here in this article by my favorite displaced American, Sarah Lyall) gives the actors the opportunity to really explore the dramatic and fiery scenes without “acting.” It’s a very subtle show with some killer lines. Definitely worth the trip out of borough, especially since the bar we went to for a drink before had $3 beers.
*Rickman’s one of those actors I see all the time out and about and was a little disappointed to not see him last night.
