Hangmen studies ‘conscience and consequence’
Hangman Harry (John Curtis), with daughter Shirley (Teagan Curtis) and wife Alice Wade (Deb Stapleton) in the Oldham pub at the centre of Centre Stage's latest production.
Centre Stage’s reputation for presenting professional-level sellout live entertainment continues with Hangmen by Martin McDonagh.
Review by Chris Marshall
Though given this is a look at the end of capital punishment in 1960s England through fictional executioner Harry Wade (based loosely on real-life hangman Albert Pierrepoint), “live” by the end is up for debate.
Director Sharon Shanks makes sure her well-cast troupe wring the most out of McDonagh’s trademark deadpan humour or jokes that are so ‘Dad’ you could forgive the deliverer for almost breaking the fourth wall with a wink at the audience.
For example, when Harry describes himself as being ‘neck and neck’ with Pierrepoint in terms of hangings – if the Nazis the latter hanged following the end of World War II were not in the tally.
But ultimately, it’s a play that does take some things seriously, examining conscience and consequence, as well perhaps as how strong our loyalty is to those we charge with carrying out a state’s morally debateable duties – and how those duties might affect them.
As Harry, John Curtis is convincing as mine host, lord of his little domain, exploiting his publican status and public celebrity until challenged by the sinister Mooney (Chase Tapuke), and later the overbearing Pierrepoint (Adrian Roberts) who comes in all guns blazing and hangs around just a little too long.
Tapuke’s arrival in the Wades’ pub adds an element of the psychotic to the usual sycophantic patrons.
From the outset his baiting of the suitably ploddish Inspector Fry (Karl Dodunski) creates a spark and sense of unpredictability that continues whenever he is on stage.
His sinister mood swings and interactions with the stuttering convicted pervert and former hangman’s assistant Syd Armfield, weasily and greasily played by Flash Sandham, are a spanner in the normal workings of life in Harry’s pub.
This pub life would look to be a fairly stable recurring diet of half-pints for borderline alcoholic Bill (Phil Somerville), Fry, who can only gruffly glare at jokes at his expense when he should probably be at work, and Charlie (Curtis Painter) and the hard of hearing Arthur (Roger Gregory) – who could almost be based on ‘The Muppets’ Statler and Waldorf, for their jobs as comic foils.
The stable presence of these ‘lads’, there to help us picture the environment, is given colour admirably by Alice Wade (Deb Stapleton) and the Wade’s daughter Shirley (Teagan Curtis) whose roles call for complexity which these two exploit well.
Young journalist Clegg (Hayden Pett) who doesn’t have too much difficulty in drawing some of Harry’s ‘sacrosanct’ knowledge out of him and the condemned Hennessey (Ollie Richards) have small but important roles and are suitably crafty in playing on Harry’s hubris or, in Richards’ case, desperate to avoid becoming one of the 233 he has hanged.
The production team have done an amazing job with all the aspects that aren’t so visible to the naked eye, and the set construction crew and painters deserve special mention for the detail and ambience of the pub and couple of other locations the audience is taken to.
Tickets might be hard to come by now the show has started but see if you can rope one in.
The Bayleys season of 'Hangmen' at the Centre Stage Playhouse, Matai Street runs from October 29 to November 8. Tickets at https://www.trybooking.com/nz/ZLY or at the Taupō Visitor and Information Centre, Tongariro Street.