Somewhere in New York an isolated, elderly, Jewish man with an empty refrigerator waits in his unkempt apartment for the remainder of his life to pass; the loss of his wife of many years’ weighs heavily on him, the curtains are drawn on the world outside; this is Mr Green (Andrew Horwood) alone in the world.
In his simply constructed but touching play, the playwright Jeff Baron sets up a situation that immediately aims for the heartstrings and plies the audience with possibilities when a knock comes at the door of Mr Green’s dishevelled home. Though the pathos of the following scene is familiar and easy to understand, the resulting story is not at all predictable. Once Mr Green has answered the door and the playwright introduces Ross Gardiner (Andrew Clark) into the set-up, an awkward, often stilted, tragicomedy unfolds.
Even though this is a heavily sentimental and dated style of theatre, it has been brought to life with all the required elements to keep it sharply focused and emotionally engaging by the Director, Vicky Horwood, and her team at Galleon Theatre Group. The empty set alone received applause in the first moments of the production, and deservedly so, it is convincing and informative at first sight.
Plays that rely completely on two characters can be devilishly boring if there are generalised or superficial renditions of the protagonists, but it is in expert hands with these two well-seasoned performers who employ all the subtleties necessary to maintain credibility.
Originally written as a ‘star vehicle’ for a celebrated mainstream American actor, Visiting Mr Green has had much success around the world since it first emerged in 1996 and although it isn’t quite thirty years old, it sits unfalteringly in the traditional social realist style of theatre, which may pose a challenge for some younger audiences. Luckily, the target audience is not young people; the playwright has committed theatre subscribers firmly in his sights, so much so, that he wrote a sequel once it had gained momentum at the box office. Problematically, the script has some glaringly obvious historical omissions. The issues raised are very particular and boldly selective; still, it does tackle human foibles, loss, identity, family, and acceptance, so it is best to avoid revealing details of the actual story.
Suffice it to say that in spite of the flaws in the script, the charisma and chemistry between these two fine actors and all the contributing elements involved in Galleon’s production are expertly delivered.
Visiting Mr Green
Until 26th of October, 2024
Domain Theatre, Marion Cultural Centre
