A Clockwork Orange, published in 1962, is a nightmarish vision of a dystopian near-future. Vivid visions of casual violence, drug use and sexual assault are recounted first-person by Alex, in his disarmingly playful ‘Nadsat’ dialect.
Combining archaic English terminology, Russian phrases and rhyming slang, this enthralling and witty use of language compels the reader to coerce in the hedonistic thrill of the debauchery at hand. Add to this Alex’s astute fashion sense and obsession with Beethoven, and you have a complex and charismatic narrator, who achieves notoriety and political significance during the course of the story.
Personally, I was disappointed by Stanley Kubrik’s film adaptation of the novel, finding it difficult to relate to Alex and his ‘Droogs’ (gang members) when the stark brutality of their violent acts is visualised. So I was equally sceptical about a stage adaptation. However, production company BELT UP use manically choreographed and violent dance routines, strobe lighting, crunching techno music, and mime, in an interpretation that’s as dementedly stylised as the original text.
Equally menacing are the confrontational performers, who walk among the audience, taking personal possessions for use as props, even thrusting certain members to the stage to participate. The sell out crowd flung themselves into the mayhem.
The sell out crowd flung themselves into the mayhem.
This is visceral theatre which offers a startling and brave reincarnation of the nihilistic spirit of the source material. However, it might be noted that some of the dense political and sociological dynamics of the story are lost amidst the anarchy.
Towards the end of the play, lead actor Alex Forsyth dives to the ground and cracks his head. Forsyth deliriously apologises to the crowd and pleads for a doctor. The concerned theatre staff hastily usher us out, where we stand in the foyer, drained from the performance and concerned for the health of the lead.
Given the productions’ postmodern tone, I almost suspected that the injury and subsequent evacuation was scripted, though the ambulance which screeched to a halt outside the theatre suggested otherwise. However, the phone call I made the following morning confirmed that this moment of genuine ultraviolence didn’t result in serious injury and the production completed its three day run.
J Everard Design 