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Dramatic tribute to artist, filmmaker and campaigner Derek Jarman.Summary
Rating
Good
I know of Derek Jarman more by repute than anything else. To date I haven’t seen any of his films, read his diaries, or made the pilgrimage to his pebbly garden down in Dungeness. But still I know that he was an iconic figure in the world of avant-garde cinema, and a bold campaigner for gay rights even as he fell victim to AIDS in the 1980s.
On what would have been Jarman’s 80th birthday, writer/performer Mark Farrelly’s one-man show sketches his life from harsh childhood, through romantic fulfilment of a sort with the mysterious HB and on to illness and death.
The production features some sophisticated and effective lighting, and a scene of audience participation enthusiastically embraced by a willing crowd. Farrelly has a certain charm and is clearly emotionally invested in his subject.
Some aspects of the show are rather mystifying – I’ve no idea what all the brown paper was supposed to represent – and it feels more like a sequence of events rather than a portrait of a person. I saw the show with someone who is something of a Jarman afficionado, and he agreed that not a great deal of the man’s vision or character was on display.
But just celebrating Jarman in this special anniversary year serves a purpose of sorts: I think I’ll give the films a go, and maybe even take a trip to the famous pebbly garden.
Written by: Mark Farrelly
Directed by: Sarah-Louise Young
Jarman played at Greenwich Theatre for one evening as part of a Gala performance. The show will now tour nationally, with dates confirmed up to 8 September.
