Bull

Premiered in 2013, Bull by Mike Bartlett is a brutal depiction of vicious office politics. Three candidates for two jobs, with all sorts of dodgy goings on, make for an uncomfortable and very powerful hour of intense drama.

Guildford’s Star Inn has a wonderfully intimate Back Room theatre and music space, absolutely ideal for thoughtful, edgy drama like this one.

We opened to a very apt boxing ring against the stark black walls. Two candidates, the woman cool, calm and collected, the man edgy, nervous, needing to collect himself. His scruffy briefcase, and flying papers in great contrast to her power handbag, and later her colleagues slick file containing the necessary up to date report. The joy of productions at this venue is that no great scenery is needed. The words speak for themselves, and that is as it should be, the props spoke too.

Business suits, smart with snazzy tie for one chap, ordinary suit and boring tie for the other,and a lovely stylish grey dress with black jacket and power heels for our female protagonist. Costumes definitely set the scene here.

Stark lighting on the black background added to the tenseness of the situation.

Eyeing up the other candidates at an interview is something we’ve all done – is she more snappily dressed than me? – and maybe polite conversation is made. Here though, we soon came to realise that Thomas and Isobel worked at the same firm. Then we saw that Isobel was cleverly and meanly goading Thomas with regard to his poor suit – ‘Why didn’t you wear your best one?’ ‘This IS my best one!’, and by inventing a smut on his face, that just wouldn’t go away no matter how hard he tried to erase it. And all the while he just wanted to be left alone to concentrate. The grinding down of Thomas had begun. Enter Tony, their team leader, who joined in with gusto. All the time one was cringing with embarrassment for Thomas, and boiling with the injustice of it all. Does this really happen these days in offices? One suspects so, if a little less crassly.

This award-winning play is good. But it stands and falls surely on the strength of direction, and of the cast. Marie Gardner directed a corker here, and the cast were brilliant, with fine timing, so essential in this piece, and exquisite cruelty in their humour. Kirsty Lane as Isabel and Jeremy Gooding as team-leader Tony excelled here.  Tim Brown exuded sensitivity, self-doubt -already at the start- and vulnerability, increasing by the minute, as our woeful Thomas, a fine performance indeed.

All the while, I was hoping, hoping for a reversal of the situation, for the goading pair to get their comeuppance. Enter Carter, their boss, well-played with glib insouciance by Phil Snell. Time is money, let’s get this over with. No defence possible for the hapless Thomas, and out he went, job gone. I felt fury at the injustice!

And exactly these emotions induced in the audience are what makes this such a strong play, such a strong playwright.

A fine yet disturbing evening’s theatre. As usual with the Pranksters, a challenging choice of play, well-cast, superbly directed and acted, and just right for this intimate venue. Theatre at its best!

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