Frank McGuinness‘ new play Dinner With Groucho imagines the conversation between the poet, literary critic and publisher T.S. Eliot and comedian Groucho Marx when they met for dinner in 1964, as mutual admirers.
Playing at Oxford Playhouse all week, the crucial theme is the connection between these two iconic men through their ideas and chosen genres.
“the acting is good and the script is smooth”
Brought by b*spoke theatre company, the acting is good and the script is smooth. Ian Bartholomew plays Groucho confidently and energetically – impersonating well the familiar mannerisms of the surreal and subversive clown.
Greg Hicks plays Eliot, capturing the repressed personality in a buttoned up tweed suit and waistcoat, while occasionally erupting in anger. read his interview here
“IAN BARTHOLOMEW PLAYS GROUCHO CONFIDENTLY AND ENERGETICALLY “
Yet it is the proprietor of the restaurant, played by Ingrid Craigie, who is the most subversive – charging them for drinks and food she never gave them, and forcing Groucho to be the grown up in the room by questioning the bill.
It quickly becomes obvious that Frank McGuinness is playing an intellectual game with us by dropping hints about both men’s lives, but often subverting reality with fiction.
“GROUCHO DISCUSSES HIS JEWISH UPBRINGING, WHICH SITS UNCOMFORTABLY WITH ELIOT’S ALLEGED ANTI-SEMITISM”
For example, Groucho discusses his Jewish upbringing, which sits uncomfortably with Eliot’s alleged anti-semitism, and when Eliot claims that he is entitled to silence given his achievements, we wonder if he’s asking us to separate the man from the poet and ignore controversial issues such as the alleged mistreatment of his first wife.
The performance is relatively short – 70 minutes with no interval – and so remains intense and challenging with outbreaks of humour until the very end in this poignant reflection on their lives and achievements.
My only reservation is that in order to fully appreciate the numerous connections being made, one needs a relatively good knowledge of these men’s lives and works.
Simon Courts
Dinner With Groucho runs at Oxford Playhouse until Saturday November 5. https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/dinner-with-groucho
