Review: Ruthless, Arches Lane Theatre

Have you ever read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and wondered what would have happened to Miss Havisham if she had married the swindler Compeyson? Ruthless gives an insight as to what she may have become. However, instead of mid-19th-century England, Ruthless is set in modern-day New York, where we meet Ruth Madoff (Emily Swain), the wife of the former notorious swindler Bernie Madoff. At this point, Ruth is 80 years-old, her husband has been in prison for 13 years, her two sons are deceased, and Ruth is left entirely alone, speaking to no one except for the pizza delivery boy who she becomes fascinated with.

Ruthless is set in what appears to be a small room with various articles, including a pizza box, bottles of wine, and glasses. Her makeup is crammed into a small space underneath a large mirror. She walks around like a modern-day Miss Havisham with the illusion that if she holds on to the memories of a life that could have been, then that life will suddenly return and she will be happy. But under the mess of makeup and the crowded table, three giant portraits of Bernie Madoff and their two sons, Mark and Andrew, loom high up on the wall as a reminder of a life that will never happen. 

Ruthless is written from the perspective of a woman who is left with nothing but grief, and grief is all she has known for a very long time. At many points, Ruth cries out and weeps in utter despair as the audience watches her run around on stage in an overexcited manner, telling us how she feels as the bright stage lights shine down on her. She becomes still and silent as she dissolves more and more into a state of hopelessness, all the while contemplating multiple attempts at ending her own life as the stage lights dim.

As heartbreakingly tragic as it is to watch Ruth cry out and unleash her emotions, there is not much of a story to follow. The second act takes on a Faustian twist, with many individuals blaming her for essentially selling her soul without taking anyone into consideration other than herself. Ruthless challenges us to question whether she was simply an innocent bystander or a willing accomplice to her swindling husband. This is a good question, but given that the story is told from the perspective of Ruth, there is not much to work with. This leaves one wondering exactly where this play is going and what exactly the audience is supposed to take away from all of this.

Ruthless, however, is not hopeless. This is an incredibly biographical production about a woman who has been left to fend for herself in a world where she is utterly despised. But in order to answer the question of whether Ruth is innocent or guilty of her husband’s crimes, more information is needed than the confession of a grieving woman who has been locked up in her own prison for so long that what she says may be fact or fiction.

Directed, Written & Produced by: Roger Steinmann
Set Designer: Charlie San Myint
Dramaturgical Advisor: Ruth Ahmed

Ruthless plays at the Arches Lane Theatre until Sunday 29 June