Ionesco’s challenging absurdist 1952 play The Chairs is claimed a masterpiece but hasn’t had a major London production in close to 25 years.
At the Almeida, Omar Elerian’s version of the play, which he also directs, offers a bumper meta-theatrical edition of the text, and adds an extra layer with its own epilogue. It gets simply extraordinary performances from husband-and-wife duo Kathryn Hunter and Marcello Magni, who are also long-time Theatre de Complicité collaborators.
Dolled up in pitifully clownish guises, the pair have a uniquely touching chemistry on stage as they capture the fragility and desperation of dreams not lived.
The agenda is just about clear. Old Woman and Old Man – in their nineties and married for 75 years - live on an island surrounded by stagnant water. They have a radio and there’s a regular boat service - a melancholy foghorn is an occasional reminder.
Memories of a harsh journey to a fenced off magical land they call Paris suggest they may be in France. No friends or family have visited for years as Old Man has quarreled with everyone.
To heal the breach, he has invited an orator to address guests at their home with a final speech he’s been preparing for decades. Chairs pile up as the imaginary guests sweep in, the roll call including a Colonel, an Engraver – who prompts Old Woman to hitch up her skirt and engage in some lusty flirtation – and The Beauty, who was Old Man’s first love. Her nose, he notes, has grown perplexingly long.
Ionesco’s love of Commedia dell’Arte and Charlie Chaplin are evident. And, of course, in this universe, there can be no redemption. Alienating daily routines, meaningless interactions and posturing both infantilize – Old Man sees Old Woman as mother and wife – and in prison.
The extra layer is provided by Toby Sedgwick’s rabbit-in-headlights stagehand. Thanks to a radio dangling in front of the luxurious vaudeville-style curtains, we’re privy to the actors’ off-stage opening conversations.
Magni is peevishly threatening to walk: ‘Tell them I have Covid!’ There’s a shadowy hinterland of war and displacement suggested in the repeated rambling migration tale.
The epilogue is a mistake and the production’s trickery is over-played which detracts from the play’s humanity and that’s a pity because all performers are spellbinding.
The Chairs is at The Almeida until March 5.
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