REVIEW: Luce, Southwark Playhouse ✭✭✭✭

Luce

Southwark Playhouse

11th March 2015

4 Stars

Book Now At a time when school shootings and American extremism has been frequently in the news, Luce seems a welcome arrival at the Southwark Playhouse.

The title character, who was adopted from Africa, is the man everyone wants to be at his high school, excelling both on the sports field and in the classroom. So nobody can believe it when Luce is caught with illegal fireworks and submits a school report littered with references to violent terrorism. This leads to clashes between his suspicious teacher and his nice but disbelieving parents. Is Luce really who he claims to be or is he on a path to destruction?

JC Lee’s script is enjoyably ambiguous, dancing around the big questions and often giving more questions than answers. School shooters are often portrayed as loners and misfits, so it was a refreshing difference to see Luce shown as a popular and likeable kid, perhaps driven to evil by his troubled war-torn background and the weight of the expectations placed upon him.

The language used throughout is equally unclear; characters often speak of ‘miscommunications’ and events that we witness with our own eyes are confused by the characters’ differing interpretations of them. There is also a racial subtext; Luce’s black teacher Harriet wants him to be a role model for the community whilst there was a touch of ‘white guilt’ implied about his liberal adoptive parents. It makes for an intriguing, if sometimes ponderous, evening, that keeps viewers guessing right until the end.

This is enhanced by an excellent cast, led by Martins Imhangbe as Luce. It is a fantastic performance, showing the character’s manipulative tendencies but also his ability to be charming and intelligent. True sociopaths are rarely idiotic (director Simon Dormandy mentions the allegedly charismatic Boston Bomber in his programme notes). Luce has a brilliant foil in Natasha Gordon’s Harriet, steely and yet compelling in her appeals to Luce’s better nature.

Much of the comic relief comes from Luce’s oblivious parents, who are too slow in realising the situation that is unfolding in front of him. Nigel Whitmey put in my favourite performance of the night as the exasperated father, whereas Mel Giedroyc showed her acting skills as the hopelessly trusting mother.

There is an additional subplot involving Luce’s ex-girlfriend Stephanie, however it does not feel properly developed and adds little to the main story. Nonetheless, the part was well acted by an enjoyably ditzy and vulnerable Elizabeth Tan.

Dick Bird’s set is simple but effective, with the use of a large mirror to add extra tension. The cast is sat in the audience, which is fine in itself, but does add an element of frustration, as you know that once a character heads off backstage, they are unlikely to play any further part.

Luce is a fresh and interesting take on American extremism in the 9/11 era. Full of intrigue and tension, it offers a thought provoking night out.

Luce runs at Southwark Playhouse until 2 April 2016. Book Now