Review: TRIUMPH, Almeida Theatre
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
As a fellow audience member remarked “there are not many playwrights who could fill a theatre for a fifteen-minute play”. It is a testament to the long and successful career of Caryl Churchill that she can do so. Aptly named Triumph, Churchill once again has her finger on the pulse of international politics.
Directed by James McDonald, this swift and satirical play packs a lot into its short run time. At the centre is the charismatic Kate Flynn who plays Iris, Press Secretary to an elusive and brutal emperor. She falls for an opposition journalist Marcus (Matthew Beard) who urges her to question her actions, and aide Rufus (Sargon Yelda) supports to remind Iris that their purpose is to keep the emperor happy.
Triumph is set in the present day, but the material has been inspired by the Roman era. Specifically, the work of historian Suetonius who penned The Twelve Caesars: a set of biographies of Julius Caesar and the first eleven emperors. It is from these that Churchill has gathered details of the bizarre and cruel activities and punishments of the past, which emulate some of the atrocities of the present. Historians often describe Suetonius’s works as biased, sensationalist, reliant on gossip and that they sacrifice accuracy for entertainment. That is perfect for Triumph which commentates on the ludicrous state of world politics and its leaders, one in particular across the pond.
This play could not be more topical in a week where a blonde press secretary lasted only days in the job. However, Triumph looks beyond the glossy public persona and juxtaposes it against the personal. The set, designed by Miriam Buether, mirrors this by dividing the stage into two with a bed on one side and a podium on the other. Iris strides between the two debating if her own happiness is worth more than that of success and validation causing the audience to consider how morality, politics and power intersect. Flynn captures this conflict excellently inspired by the boyish but misguided courage of Beard’s Marcus to challenge the emperor’s actions.
As Iris declares in one of her press conferences, the emperor does not care if people hate him so long as they fear him. Churchill explores how people react to extreme politics and how mass mentality can surprisingly result in support or lead to ambivalent. However, one of the limitations of such a condensed production is that there is no time to explore this further and time is instead largely dedicated to the press conferences listing abhorrent actions. Although this is very likely what Churchill intended as she has never shied away from making an audience feel uncomfortable.
Triumph is thought provoking, intellectual and darkly humorous. This short play packs a punch and Churchill once again proves why she is one of the most celebrated playwrights of political drama and the British theatre industry.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Sophie Luck
Triumph plays at London’s Almeida Theatre until 23 Oct, with further info here.
