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Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n Roll - ACT
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By Audrey Gervasi
The ACT Theatre consistently brings Seattle audiences high-quality, thought-provoking drama, and Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll is no exception. Spanning two decades and two countries (England and Czechoslovakia) Rock 'n' Roll is at once a story about history, politics, love, friendship, poetry and music. Despite the title, music is not the dominant element of the play but rather provides the backdrop, the broth in which the dramatic stew simmers, if you will. In essence the play encapsulates the energy and turmoil of the last half of the 20th century, with all of its social and political upheaval. While this period of history has inspired much art, drama, and music, what sets Rock 'n' Roll apart is its European influence and a radical political and intellectual flavor that I have not tasted in a long while.
The story follows Jan, a Czech student studying at Cambridge in 1968 and Max, his Marxist philosophy professor. After the Russians roll tanks into Prague to squelch a reformist uprising, Jan returns home to Prague, carrying his suitcase full of rock 'n' roll albums. The action switches back and forth between Jan in Czechoslovakia, and Max and his family--wife Eleanor and daughter Esme--as they live their lives. Life happens to them as life does, with death, birth, imprisonment, love, betrayal and reconciliation. Jan and Max reunite in 1990, changed in many ways but still the same. The play is punctuated with philosophical and political discussions by the characters, as well as music by the Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan and others. There are numerous references to Syd Barrett, formerly of Pink Floyd, and the Plastic People of the Universe, an obscure underground Prague band that not only sang about revolution but helped to start the "velvet" one, and who were imprisoned for their efforts.
The play is extremely well-executed, from the outstanding performances to the interesting set changes, and is enhanced by being performed in the ACT's in-the-round Allen Theatre. As the play is multi-dimensional, so are its characters. They are far from stereotypes, and the actors do a fine job of bringing out their fullness. Denis Arndt is outstanding as Max, the radical Marxist professor. Although his character more often than not is engaging in diatribes about communism, he also portrays a humanity that makes him likeable in many ways. Likewise Anne Allgood, who portrays Max's wife Eleanor, and the adult daughter Esme, who are both portrayed as strong, intelligent women, not without self-doubt but ultimately capable of dealing with whatever life throws them. In fact, all of the female characters in this play are refreshing in their completeness--even the sultry, flirtatious Lenka, played by Alexandra Tavares, exudes intelligence. Mathew Floyd Miller turns in a capable performance as Jan; although his accent was somewhat inconsistent, in the end he was convincing and empathetic.
Tom Stoppard is himself a Czech native, his family having fled the country during the Nazi invasion and settling thereafter in England. In the 1970s, Stoppard associated with a number of Czech dissidents, and publicly protested their treatment by the Communists, and was highly critical of British Marxists.
Stoppard was inspired to write the play after seeing a photo of a middle-aged Syd Barrett riding his bicycle home from the market. In a Vanity Fair interview he says: "When you take away everything plays think they're about, what's left is what all plays--all stories--are really about, and what they're really about is time. Events, things happening . . .are different manifestations of what governs the narratives we make up, just as it governs the narrative we live in: the unceasing ticktock of the universe. There is no stasis, not even in death, which turns into memory." If this quote leaves you scratching your head, see the play. The light of understanding will begin to dawn, even as it leaves you thinking.
Rock 'n' Roll runs through November 8. For more information and tickets call (206) 292-7676 or visit http://www.acttheatre.org/
Photo: Matthew Floyd Miller (Jan) and Jessica Martin (Young Esme) in Rock 'n' Roll at ACT - A Contemporary Theatre - photo credit: Chris Bennion.
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