Les Chroniques de Natha: The Dazzle – Found111 (09/01/2016) ENGLISH

Or… "A suicide by things"…

I usually always know how to end my article but rarely know how to start them. I should probably begin this one by explaining how I ended up – me little Belgian woman – in a temporary theatre at number 111 of Charing Cross Road, London.

Originally, I was back in London to see The Winter's Tale with Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh, which I did. And yes, Shakespeare is a hell of a challenge when English isn't your mother language!

Anyway, it was a four-day stay and I needed to fill these days with as much art as I could.

The reason I bought a ticket for The Dazzle is simple: it started with my passion for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the first book I've ever read in English. Therefore, anything involving Sherlock Holmes and his longtime partner Watson has always had an interest to me since then. I guess you see where I'm going… right?

Andrew Scott has found fame in his interpretation of Moriarty, Holmes 'nemesis in the BBC series Sherlock, or – recently – in Spectre, the latest chapter of James Bond's adventures. In addition of his work in the TV and movie industries, the Irish actor also has an impressive stage career.

Kindness (and talent!) are two major elements that makes me keep an eye on someone's career. I've had the opportunity of meeting Mr Scott a few months ago and appreciated his kindness when he signed my Hound of Baskervilles book even though his character Moriarty doesn't appear in the novel. So… naturally, I've kept a close eye on his projects since then.

So… here's for the 'how I ended up there'.

Now back to the play… The Dazzle is no one-man show: it's a threesome! What? Oh no, not the kind of threesome you imagine! A chaste one.

The others actors involved in The Dazzle are Joanna Vanderham and David Dawson. The two weren't strangers to me either since Miss Vanderham played in the amazing 2012 film What Maisie knew and Mr Dawson appeared in the TV series Ripper. Both also appeared together in the sadly cancelled series Banished.

L to R : Joanna Vanderham, David Dawson, Andrew Scott

Originally written by Richard Greenberg in 2002, The Dazzle tells the story of the Collyer brothers, the famous New-York hoarders. Yes, my friends, this play is about people who really existed… Why a story about them? Because, in some ways, their story – yet tragic – is also a fascinating one.

Scott plays Langley Collyer, a talented but tortured pianist while Dawson plays Homer Langley, his accountant brother. Vanderham's character is the rich socialite Milly Ashmore who's, at first, infatuated with Langley. Though Milly is a fictional character, she's definitely an important element of Greenberg's story.

I've read in a few reviews that Vanderham's character was considered as secondary. In my opinion, even though she has less presence in terms of timing, the dynamic wouldn't definitely be the same without her, especially in the first act. She triggers something in both brothers, in very different ways, during the first part of the story… romantically and financially.

The interaction between the three actors is strong, vivid and definitely strengthens the credibility of the characters. The trio made the characters interesting and endearing, despite their respective flaws.

The Dazzle is more than a love story though… It is also a funny one: the sarcasm between the brothers, the 'you kind of lost me there, Langley' look on Milly's face, the attitudes, the discreet movements of objects you eventually end up noticing anyway…

And yet… I sure laughed many times but couldn't help but feel a little sadness as well : you quickly understand how of a tortured – if not autistic – soul Langley is and also realize, as the story goes, that Homer wanted a different life. A life he also knew he'd never have partly because of his brother.

Even though Homer seems to be a solid, pragmatic man in the first act, it becomes quickly obvious that their way of live has taken its toll on him in the course of time or… could it be that the brothers suffered in fact from the same disease?

Despite what happens, the bond between the brothers remains strong through all their own battles and Scott and Dawson's interpretation as brothers was absolutely convincing.

That tenderness remains constant in both acts: in the first act, Homer has to care for Langley but in the second one, the situation is reversed and Langley does his best to help his brother, scared at the idea of being left alone. This moment – even though it had a funny 'Bible' start – literally put tears in my eyes. I was aware of the Collyers story so I knew where we were heading to but Dawson's resignation and Scott's fear and despair also affected me. More than I thought it would, to be honest.

So… The Dazzle made me laugh. And cry. It moved me. And that's exactly what I want once I enter in a theatre. It doesn't matter if I look like a mess once I'm coming out of it, as long as I've felt strong emotions. In this, The Dazzle was a complete success. Best proof is this article as this blog mainly deals with music rather than the theatre life…

Speaking of theatres, using a quite uncommon place to play Greenberg's work is also a brilliant idea. The 120-something seats (some of which being old church chairs!) installed in what had probably been a classroom of the former Central St Martin School of Art and noise coming from Charing Cross Road provided the confined necessary environment for the brothers 'story.

Each and every one of us were able to enjoy Greenberg's jewel since we were only a few feet away from Vanderham, Scott and Dawson. Yes, yes, sometimes it wasn't easy to see their faces but… only for a few moments since the three of them carefully moved around the stage, giving everyone an opportunity to see the actions – and reactions – of the characters.

A few other things also caught my attention… The objects collected by the brothers, the sound of the clocks, the clothes (especially the beautiful dresses of Miss Vanderham), the lights... and one other thing that happened before the second act had officially started definitely convinced me that The Dazzle will remain one of the finest moments I've experienced in my numerous London trips.

So… thank you to Miss Vanderham and both Mister Scott and Dawson for this amazing time (and congratulations on moving so easily in the dark without falling flat on your face! ;) ) but also a massive thank you and 'bravo' to Simon Evans for his wise directional ideas and to everyone involved in this adventure.

In the end, The Dazzle is the best proof that it sometimes takes only a little to make big things. The set wasn't outrageous, the cast wasn't numerous, the venue wasn't prestigious and the price wasn't certainly scandalous (35£) but… the result was absolutely fa-bu-lous.

The Dazzle is still played at Found111 until January 30th. It's now a sold out event BUT… 5 day seats at 10£ are available at 6pm for evenings & 1.30pm for matinees every day. One ticket per person. May you be the next lucky one to get one of those! ;)