THE STAGE REVIEW | DIARY OF A MADMAN

Diary of a Madman

Published Tuesday 28 May 2013 at 10:46 by Susie Wild

Based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol, Robert Bowman’s one-man show charts the unravelling of 40-something civil servant Poprishchin in 1830s Russia. Sharpening pencils for His Excellency, he is schoolboy impish when describing the beautiful object of his affection: “Her dress was white like a swan, and when she looked at me it was like the sun shining - I swear it.”

Robert Bowman in Diary of a MadmanPhoto: Katy Stephenson

First performed in Chapter in 2011 as a development piece funded by the Arts Council of Wales, Diary of a Madman was created using the Michael Chekhov Technique and sees Poprishchin move down a scale of emotions from naively quixotic through a spat of psychosis giggles - can dogs write? Could this handwriting be described as ‘doggy’? Could he be the next King of Spain? - to a dark and surreal place. Illness meant that Bowman was croaky and performing under par to start with. However, the audience warmed to his initially endearing character and laughs came fairly easily. Directed by Olivier Award nominee Sinead Rushe, Bowman utilises the imaginative, simple set (designed by Sarah Beaton) well, pulling up the planks of his palette stage to reveal paper sculptures and other ephemera to pin to his mobile chain of charms.

As Poprishchin tunnels further and further into his madness, scribbling and scrambling about for his own ‘crumbs of happiness’ the audience disengage, and the show begins to feel more like an acting exercise rather than a complete piece. Despite wonderful lighting (Katy Stephenson) and an eerie score (Roland Melia); this jumbled epistolary production doesn’t manage to find its way back.

Comments

GIG ALERT: Voicebox Wrexham

Celebrate 11 years... (11 YEARS!) of Voicebox with an absolute class creative cabaret of Wrexham's Arts Scene with the infamous Voicebox Open Mic with your host Natasha Borton! This month we have a very special takeover with Parthian Books. Parthian is an independent publisher based in Cardigan, Wales. Since its foundation in 1993, Parthian has published some of the best-known works of contemporary Welsh literature. Parthian's motto is “A Carnival of Voices in Independent Publishing”. Monday 11th November at Rough Hands Tap, Wrexham Entry is £5 (£3 concessions) Doors: 7pm Open Mic 7:30 - 8:30 Susie Wild - 8:45 - 9:15 Patrick Jones - 9:15 - 9:45 Penblwydd Hapus Voicebox Headliners: Susie Wild is author of the poetry collections Windfalls and Better Houses, the short story collection The Art of Contraception listed for the Edge Hill Prize, and the novella Arrivals. Her work has featured in many publications including Poetry Wales, Ink Sweat & Tears and The Atlanta Review and

Little Universe: 'Poems of true wonder'

We've had some lovely endorsements in from first readers for Little Universe , the stellar third poetry collection from Natalie Ann Holborow. Thanks so much to these poets for being such stars and sending these in for us! We recommend all their books! Get them! Do join us for the launch at Swansea Waterstones on Monday 7 October (6pm, free and unticketed, just come along), or find us at Bookspace in Cardiff for a joint reading with poet Rae Howells on Wednesday 27 November 96.45pm, tickets via the shop's website soon). I'll be chairing both events, so see you there!

MS: New Narratives & Literary Lunches

I hate trains. Or rather I hate trains on Sundays that turn out not to be trains but buses or trains that get halfway to their destination, then sit still in the middle of nowhere for two hours before returning you to the start of your journey to wait for a bus instead. This was my Sunday. It took me three and a half hours longer than it should have to get to Balloon in Cardiff where I had been booked in to read a short story, alongside Richard Milward and Matthew David Scott . A literary lunch event. Richard Milward (photo by Matt Jarrett) When I eventually made it to the Balloon event at Cardiff Arts Institute lunch was sold out, Matt had read and Richard was into his first set of the day. I was in a foul mood but Rich, wearing a mask of the cover of Apples still managed to make me laugh with his tall tales of awkward teenage sex. He gave me prop envy too. After I read a new story about butterflies and mental hospitals from my forthcoming collection , Rich bounded onto the s

Wildlife

Search This Blog