Any portrayal of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest will inevitably succeed or fail depending on its capacity to explore the relationships that form within the world of a suppressive psychiatric hospital. In particular, the extrapolation of the rebellion so central to Randell McMurphy and the calculated subterfuge of Nurse Ratchet must take place in order to form the nexus of a world in which concepts central to State suppression, rebellion and mental health can all be illuminated and explored.
Unfortunately, the Human Sacrifice Theatre fell short of exploring the depth of these relationships and consequently failed to extrapolate the key questions at the core of this classic story of resistance against the State and individual rebellion. The chief concern I had was that the performance of the key characters failed to form the critical bond necessary for the story to come alive.
It is one of those occasions where, even to praise the acting of various performers in smaller roles would not cure the conspicuous vacancy of the required dynamic between key performers. The flow on effect was a rather humorous yet underdeveloped depiction of a story which should have made audience members tremble at the disembodiment and destruction of a free spirit in the realms of an authoritarian and brutal State institution.
McMurphy requires a heightened masculinity and inner strength in order to inspire the other members of the ward to follow, even blindly, the example he was setting. Unfortunately, this raw strength was lacking at times and the glimpses of it only served as a reminder of the omission of this necessary ingredient required to tell the story of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Admittedly, the play at times revealed the character of Chief as protagonist, as we followed his internal journey towards liberation. However, if he was the chief protagonist, it was not clear and it did not translate to me, at least, that it was his story that we were hearing. This inability to specify a protagonist resulted in the creation of two rather diluted protagonists, neither of whom effectively carried the story.
Attempts to link Indigenous issues to the plot I believe only added to this general confusion of what the play was actually about. Despite its visual beauty, the use of media to illuminate the awakening of Chief was a cheap substitute for a concept which should have been transferable to the audience with greater subtlety.
This was, overall, a case of too many ingredients in a simple and beautiful soup. The key components of the story were diminished by the importance attached to cheap gags, Indigenous issues and an under-baked sexual tension between Ratchet and McMurphy. The true focuses of the story; individual liberation, State suppression, rebellion and the definition of mental illness in modern society, were not explored with enough creativity or conviction.
It was certainly an enjoyable experience to see the play, and it would be unfair to say that Human Sacrifice Theatre didn’t attempt to bring a fresh and energetic life to the story. However, by ignoring the importance of those key relationships and themes, the play cheapened itself somewhat and lost track of why One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is such an important story.
The actors are an incredibly professional outfit and individually, some performances are brilliant, but as a group, their isn’t unity or understanding which elevates the story. My overall opinion is that the play suffers from lack of clear direction.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne, until 11 December 2011
TIMES: Tues – Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm
TICKETS: $36 Full, $28 Concession, $28 Groups 10+
Previews & Cheap Tuesdays: $20
