My overall impression
Owen Thomas’ play, RICHARD PARKER, is a subtle, absurdist delight, obsessed with coincidence, taking us on a rather spooky series of whirligigs weaving actual historical coincidence with the fiction of the play, like a rich theatrical magic trick. At base two very different characters are pitted against one another in an almost Beckett-like way, yet Thomas’ language is at once more traditional and less minimal than Beckett, providing lingual and sonic ammunition for the two actors’ rich Welsh voices. Alastair Sill and Gareth John Bale prove that the British Isles are the center of the English-speaking world, spooling out Thomas’ ironic, dark, often absurdly funny lines in a way only the best actors can – crystal clear, without flaw, skillfully, musically – sounding not unlike the characters’ heroes – fellow countryman Richard Burton and bop jazzman Charlie Parker – only without the baggage of Parker’s bad habits and Burton’s poor career choices and woozy celebrity. It is a pleasure to see a richly conceived text delivered by top-notch, young Welsh actors, directed with a sure and subtle hand.
Bravo!