Ionesco's 1959 play is a wacky play that sees its protagonist, Berenger, try and hold out against an epidemic of 'rhinoceritis', an ideological disease that sees its townspeople metamorphosed into rhinoceroses. Jetpack Theatre Collective ushers a difficult script into the King's Cross Theatre and executes it with vigour, precision and finesse that independent theatre so often aspires to and falls short of. This production of Rhinoceros was one that resounded the word 'talent' emphatically.
Alexander Richmond delivers his almost non-stop dialogue with an outstanding, unwavering fervour. It's hard not to be struck by the fanaticism that infects the stage around him, and we see his struggle to resist as human as it may come. Amid the chaotic plot and fast-paced farce, Richmond gives a performance laden with pathos. Robert Boddington, too, is a dream casting. Dopey, proud and blustering, the audience can't take their eyes from him. Julia Robertson's performance is artistic and nuanced in spite of her character's overly chirpy exterior. Madeline Parker's restrained performance sees her character engage less successfully with the audience but in saying this it's really splitting hairs among consistently rewarding actors.
If there were anything to pick on in the show, it would be only the script itself. By all means a masterpiece, it is at times hard to engage with and some audience members' sniggers demonstrated this. At this juncture, though, I prefer to say that the script's difficulties are a testament to the efforts of Jetpack Theatre Collective, and especially director Jim Fishwick. Their competency trampled any doubts; this show is a 'trumpeting' success.
