Pyrenees

David Greig is a prolific playwright. Until recently the majority of his output was only seen in Scotland particularly Glasgow. Yet his work has appeared all over the world. He was for example responsible for the book of “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” staged at Drury Lane in 2013. His work explores many themes. “Pyrenees” investigates ideas relating to identity and our experiences and interpretations of the journey we follow in life. The word pilgrim, used several times to address The Man, yes that is his description in the cast list, comes (via Latin) from 12th France when its prime meaning was foreigner or stranger. Linguistic nuances play an important part in the text. “Pyrenees” was originally designed to be produced in 2015, yet due to severe flooding of the theatre could not go ahead. The programme notes say that “the original cast have since gone their separate ways”. Considering the undertow of the play this fact is both ironic and poignant and unknowingly serves to underline the notion that we are all “passing through.”

A man is found in the snow at the foot of the Pyrenees. When he wakes he remembers nothing of his past other than he is English. We are told that he has money since a case full of it was found near him. We are introduced to him in the sunny outside bar area of a mountain tavern where he is being interrogated as the curtain rises by Anna, She is a British consulate official tasked with discovering who the man is. Despite being unable to achieve this aim Anna and the Man appear to be heading towards a relationship. Then a second woman arrives from Edinburgh who claims to be Man’s wife. Do we believe her, do we believe the Man when he refuses to accept her story? This strange trio is served by Pedro. Yet do we accept him at face value either? Is he perhaps an outside force put there to move things in one direction or another? For example, when he is serving his guests as the owner of the inn he is insulted when offered a tip, yet when he serves them as a waiter he positively begs to be given one. There is far more than an easy laugh at work here. Such uncertainty and inconstancy about values run as an intriguing theme, and there are many other themes believe me, throughout the play. Several times the characters use binoculars to observe a climber ascending a dangerous peak glimpsed in the distance. Will he fall, as Pedro tells us many have before him, or will he make it safely to the summit? As in life of course. We are told the Man during his pilgrimage fell in with a gang of Norwegian bikers. He spent months in their company. Yet they left him for dead after hitting him with a chain and stealing his £15,000 motorbike. Just who can you trust these days? Anna tells us she is an actress yet when she relates her full CV there is no mention of, or indeed time for, a stage career. Confusing? Well not really since the author has deliberately thrown all these apparently odd inconsistencies into the pot so we can decide where in all of this we stand. He offers no conclusions. “Pyrenees” is a play that demands our fullest attention and rewards us richly by listening carefully to what is being acted out.

Sam Garforth played the difficult role of Anna with calm assurance. Hers is, of all four of the characters, the most difficult to relate to. By the end of the play, we felt some of Anna’s pain. As the Man Iain Mackness produced just the right tone of enigmatic stubbornness to convince us that he might really have lost his memory. None of the 3 intertwined players was tempted to use unnecessary actions to illustrate their points. This was a result of the firm direction by Sylvia Thomas. She knew exactly where she wanted her characters on the stage resulting in controlled simple movements that perfectly complemented the action. The Man’s speeches downstage centre were most effective in their power. Gilly Walker as Vivienne, the supposed wife, shone. Her acting off the book, always a difficult thing to do without appearing to upstage, was first class. Again congratulations to the director for getting the right level here. Pedro is the comic relief... supposedly. It is a gem of a part for the right actor. Yet cometh the hour, James Claxton was that man! James invited us to think that Pedro did, after all, know more than he was letting on. It was a performance of subtlety, difficult to achieve for a character expressing so many outward eccentricities. The set with the peaks in the distance was the unspeaking character. The real world with its ups and downs behind the safe facade of the inn. Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The production more than entertained, it challenged and excited. Thank you to everyone who looked after us so well. Needless to say, I am looking forward to enjoying more productions of such quality at Todmorden Hippodrome Theatre.

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