THE THEATRE
"The Brothers Karamazov." Adapted by Alec Guinness from the novel by Dostoevsky. At the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.
THE hardest task in this adaptation for the stage of Dostoevsky's novel falls to the producer. With three acts and fourteen scenes he was obviously faced with the problem of preventing the whole play from degenerating into a series of sketchy episodes, particularly in view of the necessity of preserving the balance between the scenes in which Father Zossima appears with those centred round Mitya, who has, inevitably, been made the pivot round which the play revolves. Partly this has been achieved by making Smerdyakov (effectively played by James Donald) the link between the scenes. Such a method obviously has its dangers, but on balance its use is justified, and this is probably as good an adapta- tion of a difficult novel as was .possible. It is, of course, impossible to condense a quarter of a million words into two and a half hours of theatre, and this has not been attempted. What has been attempted is the production of a play effective in itself. And if this is not the book that Dostoevsky wrote, it is a generous slice of it.
The producer, ,Peter Brook, has an eye for grouping, and the scenes at the monastery are especially telling. Ernest Milton plays Father -Zossima with an almost feminine emphasis, but his extremely mannered -playing has moments of great effect, particularly in his death-bed scene. But this adaptation will stand or fall by the playing of Mirya, and there is no doubt of the success of Alec Guinness, who brings to the part a vitality that is entirely credible. The scene of his interrogation could not easily be bettered, and the strain and passion of that tortured creature is admirably communi- cated. Frederick Valk plays Karamazov with a magnificent and horrible power. Such obscene zest is tremendous, and while he is on the stage he dominates it. The women are less convincing, though Veronica Turleigh squeezes the last drop of comedy from the part of Madame Hohlakov and Elizabeth Sellars makes Grushenka a convincing trollop. Hazel Terry is not at ease with Katerina, but her part has been cut to the bone. Of the rest of a long cast it can be said of most of them that they are more than adequate. This is, in fact, a satisfactory production, and a visit to the Lyric is to be recommended. GRAHAM WATSON.
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