Word: clive
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...complex interplay between characters demands much from the actors in a play that finds room for both comedic and dramatic moments. For the most part, the cast pulls it off. Kramer delivers as Clive, nailing the desperate, angst-ridden teen with a deliberately exaggerated performance, allowing for ambiguity concerning how much of his persona is affectation and how much is real anguish...
...Louise Harrington and her husband Stanley (Matthew J. DaSilva ’12), whose conflicting attitudes towards culture are at one point described as “the difference between the salon and the saloon.” They force these views on their two children: the artistically-inclined Clive (Stewart N. Kramer ’12) and his abrasive but endearing younger sister Pamela (Vanessa...
Divided by class, culture, and aspirations, the four are engaged in a constant struggle of wills, mercilessly manipulating each other for personal gain. “This isn’t a family,” Clive declares in one of the play’s more melodramatic moments, “it’s a tribe of wild cannibals. We eat everything we can.” The arrival of Walter—a young German tutor who embodies the tormented intellectual that Clive aspires to be and the cultivated manner Louise values so highly—urges...
...script, as well as his pertinence to college students, places Clive firmly in the central role, but the other four cast members provide ample support. Koo has exceptional chemistry with Kramer, and Perron affects the earnest but obviously artificial upper-class airs of Louise with panache. While the cast occasionally misses the script’s dramatic peaks, especially in the slow-boiling first act, by the play’s climatic moments they’ve settled into their characters. As the simmering tension finally explodes, Madoff and DaSilva in particular provide a deeply affecting finale that gets...
Both the director, Natalie S. Feldman ’12, and Smillie agree that Clive, the son who is desperately trying to discover his own self amidst his family’s turmoil, is likely the most relatable character for students. “It’s very easy to dismiss people because they’re different or because you can’t understand them,” Stewart N. Kramer ’12, who plays Clive, says. “I think this play encourages us to step back from our judgments...