Comma Review: KNUCKLE by David Hare

David Hare's 'Knuckle' is a play suitably apt for today's crisis of City arrogance; parodying film noir and American thrillers in Home Counties setting, it is a commentary on urban blight. A whodunnit with a twist, it is the story of Curly, an arms dealer, who returns to his hometown of Guildford to investigate the disappearance of his sister Sarah, an investigation which leads through labyrinthine deceptions to reveal the casual corruption of our capitalist society.

Ed Holcroft swaggers and postures as Curly, exuding a cool arrogance and worldliness that is only ruffled by his sanctimonious banker father, Patrick (Richard Williams). Curly is a dangerous yet attractive backlash against a civilisation structured on double standards, the silent, well-oiled crimes of respectable City financiers driving him to 'choose guns - the noisiest profession you can find' as he rebels in an show of alcohol, drugs, sex and gun-toting machismo. In Hare's play, nothing is quite what it seems: the promiscuous Sarah is more of an innocent victim in a network of ugly lives, whilst attempts to unravel her disappearance throw up blind alleys and red herrings. As the play progresses it becomes apparent that the real point is not the mystery but the subtext, the well-heeled immorality of Guildford's burghers. Thus when Mrs Dunning (in a delightfully dour portrayal by Rachel Bull) says to Curly that 'words like 'honour' and 'loyalty' mean nothing to your generation', it is a true case of pot and kettle, as it becomes apparent that it is not Curly who is the 'barbarian' but these outwardly decent citizens.

Charlie Mulliner impresses as the gutsy Jenny, the girl who runs the infamous 'Shadow of the Moon' nightclub, and the chemistry between her and Ed Holcroft makes compulsive viewing. Cicely Hadman's careful direction subtly brings this play up to date, drawing out the parallels between the play's exploration of capitalist corruption in the 1970s and the consequences of City arrogance in our own era, whilst still retaining the other-age feel of film noir and the jazzy score of Hare's original. This promises to be a slick and stylishly dark production which will disturb, entertain, and invite reflection upon our own troubled times.

- Hana Chambers

KNUCKLE will be showing at 7.30pm at the Moser Theatre, Wadham from Wednesday 18th - Saturday 21st February. Tickets £8/£5 concession. To book call 07735424912 or book online at http://www.wegottickets.com/evenue/101. You can also pidge ticket money or a cheque made out to Trinity Players to Chloe Courtney at Trinity.