My opinion of Madame De Sade I could only call nondescript. It would be unfair to call it neither good nor bad, yet it left no impression, was almost too abstract in the point it was making, and sitting through the whole one hour forty minutes, I was struggling a little to stay awake.Not beleaguered by the negative reviews that have cast a shadow on the radiant Donmar West End series success, I went not only optimistically but excited - a show set in Paris in the run up to revolution, about some blackly twisted Casanova? Perfect for me. I'd think. The Marquis De Sade is never present on stage, the play is told from the point of view of the women in his life all struggling to understand (or imprison) his seemingly ungodly motives. This reflects the likewise people who have damned or struggled to find the philosophies of freedom and serving self indulgence within his sadomasochistic writing. The recountance means the story is told as if the characters are reading from a book which isn't what makes theatre. Yukio Mishima's language is vivid, colourful, impressionistic. It paints the action in your head so clearly, however it's always niggling at the back of your mind that such dialogue is only in stories, and people, not even back then, spoke like they do in Madame De Sade. Moreover it's message is lost within the web of eloquence leaving the audience bamboozled more than enlightened.
Even the unfaultable Michael Grandage couldn't make this a piece of brilliant theatre. He prefers to let the outstanding writing stand on it's own which just isn't enough. What Mishima has written is not a piece of theatre, it's an attempt at originality in it's format but it fails. Grandage decides to aid the subliminality of the script (although Marquis De Sade was blunt, not subtle) through the use of visual and sound effects. Unimpressive nothing moments. There is only one moment where this works to enhance the visualisation, otherwise, the lucrative projections and echo effects are only noticeable as welcome detractions from the endless narrative. This production seems to have a curse on bringing out the worst in the best names; Adam Cork, the man in demand for sound design all across the West End, produced sound fills between the Acts that detracted from the time period and generally added nothing. Perhaps he should concentrate on quality rather than quantity in his workload. Neither would I praise Christopher Oram's design, there was one set throughout that didn't age and it's old quality was pointless except for perhaps attempting to mirror old attitudes in a time of revolution. Still, surely a woman so keen to preserve reputation would surely preserve a good looking home? Neil Austin's lighting manages to use colour to age with the progression of the story, which is much better than somebody coming on in the short time they have to change to sketch some wrinkles on.
It feels like blasphemy to say it, but the cast does not give out the outstanding performance inevitably expected of them. No one gives a bad performance, they all work with Mishima's script as well as they can...but their performances in no way save the show. I heard many praise Rosamund Pike's talent in the monologue towards the closing of the show and agree that she has incredible breath control, but like the other monologues, I'm not compelled but my mind drifts off. She and everyone else's dialogue becomes long winded. Judi hasn't got an interesting part, the person who leaves the biggest impression (for character more than ability) is Frances Barber as the brash and brassy Comtess De Saint-Ford.
I'm sure that the absence of the culprit being discussed adds a necessary element of the unknown, but betraying that for something occuring in the present, especially from a character so intriguing might have recussitated the long lost audience. There are many, MANY ways an idea with such potential could have been salvage, it's almost ironic that Mishima destroyed it himself with his own beautiful words. He created a work of art to be read, not staged. If the Donmar had thought everything they touched would turn to gold, then this ball and chain will hopefully drag them back down to earth and Hamlet will be a SIGNIFICANT improvement.
