Lloyd Newson’s company DV8 premiered his piece “John” in Vienna in August and since then it has appeared in Lyon, Budapest and Athens before arriving at the Liverpool Playhouse for its UK premiere, ahead of a major run at the National Theatre’s Lyttelton in London.
As with some of their previous works, John uses verbatim dialogue, in this case the result of interviews with 50 men, one of whom was John, the focus of this piece, and whose story is told here with a form of directness that only this sort of physical theatre could achieve.
We follow John from a disturbed domestic background through scenes of crime and alcohol and drug abuse, to a period when he finds a way of being close to people without having to commit or become too involved. Further description of the narrative would detract from the work’s unfolding drama – this is not a tale that needs spoilers.
The performance style enables us to confront otherwise uncomfortable scenes both head on and obliquely at the same time, through the use of powerful movement and dialogue. Hannes Langolf plays John heading a nine-strong cast and delivering a remarkable performance, on stage for more or less the entire work. Lloyd Newson’s choreography is fluid and informs the action with dreamlike and occasionally nightmarish expression.
John is presented on a stage that revolves almost constantly throughout, with a complex set by Anna Fleischle that changes shape and configuration with each revolution. To accommodate the performance the steep Playhouse stage was fitted with an anti-rake, which necessitated the removal of the first few rows of seats in the stalls to avoid obstruction of sight-lines by the raised forestage. With this adjustment the view was good from all levels, including the gallery.
It is an uncompromising story told with uncompromising honesty and contains graphic scenes, but every moment of it has been carefully assembled to give clarity and weight to the piece. The movement becomes more and more stylised as the work progresses and this has the effect of simultaneously distancing us from and bringing us closer to the reality of the characters.
John is a remarkably hypnotic work that has the capacity to enthral an audience from first to last.
Following its two performances at Liverpool Playhouse this week, John continues in repertory at the NT Lyttelton until January 13th and then proceeds to Brighton, Barcelona and Salford, with further 2015 tour dates to be announced.
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