SUDS Slot 4, 2024: Deathwatch, a review

SUDS is no stranger to adapting 20th century plays for their 21st century audiences. In the last year alone, the Cellar Theatre has staged a range of adaptations from Red, Blithe Spirit, and The Real Inspector Hound to the banal world of The Bald Soprano.

Image credit: SUDS

Whilst these adaptations are perfectly fine, there’s an anachronism that can accompany any production put to stage from another era. There’s merit in rote for rote recreations, but I will always prefer a distortion of a classic akin to what Zoe Le Marinel, Jasmine Jenkins, and their team have put to the stage with SUDS Slot 4’s Deathwatch (1947) by Jean Genet.

The original 1947 play follows three prisoners – Green-Eyes (Olivia Castree-Croad), Jules LeFranc (Amelie James-Power), and Maurice (Stephanie Kemple) – as they wrestle with their fate, dignity, and agency within the confines of their prison cell. This original piece is rife with touching explorations of control, identity, and desire as the trio grapples with their past and the inevitability of what’s to come. Whilst fascinating even on this surface level, this SUDS production of Deathwatch is unique in the fact that it’s the first time in the play's troubled history that it’s been performed in drag.

Deathwatch was written by Genet, a French playwright, off the back of WWII, and as such the original text is dripping with the post-war dolour and early absurdism that subsumed both Europe and Genet in the period. Even with the brazen vibrancy that defines the play, many exact recreations of the performance are raptured by a heavy sense of confinement, torment, and ennui, facets that can make the production overly burdensome on the audience if improperly handled.

This is where SUDS’ incorporation of the extravagance and vulnerability of drag work to benefit the bones of the script. First and foremost, the surreal elements of Deathwatch that are occasionally critiqued immediately feel more grounded when delivered through this parallel art form. The element of extravagance that the cast brings to life through the altered medium works to bridge the authenticity of the character work with the absurdism of the play's freneticism - a sometimes jarring disconnect from the original script.

The elements of drag also accentuate the core elements of desire and identity from the original play. Rather than feeling one-note, drag enriches the exploration of gender expression embedded in the text, bringing more complexity and clarity to the script’s discussion over fate and identity. The extremes of masculinity and femininity are stretched, inevitably changing the play's commentary on self-perception, power, and existentialism to ultimately create a richer insight into the complexity and effect these vying themes have on the characters. Something I felt particularly distinct through the performances of James-Power as Jules LeFranc and Kemple as Maurice.

It’s this genius recycling of the original script's weaknesses that lends itself so well to the themes and ambience the cast and crew so expertly capture. The tonal flavour that drag brings to an originally dour setting also offsets the heavy atmosphere intrinsic to the original Deathwatch; Genet’s original intention for violent colours and the surreal lending themselves seamlessly to drag culture. The expert craft that went into each cast member's presentation only further enhanced the impact and effect of the performances for me; all under the guidance of the costume team (Tamsyn Cotezee, Scout McWhinney, and Gaby Whalland) and the hair and makeup team (Leo Westgard and Adele Beaumont). 

The lighting, sound, and set design was also a particular highlight of the production. The sound and light work of Harry Steele, Nasrin Keast, and Cameron Notr not only built out the ambience of the performance, but it also informed my favourite sections of the play: the mania-inducing monologues from Green-Eyes (Castree-Croad). This was my first time seeing her on stage and the way she captured the audience with her freneticism and the almost mercantile conviction of Green-Eyes was an absolute delight. The frenzy and certitude of her performance is worth buying a ticket for alone.

Taking a step back, this celebration and projection of queer culture and the palpable vindication felt in the performance comes at an important time for drag and queer identity. After the concerted anti-drag crusade that has swept the news since 2023, through to the continued suppression, tempering, and discrimination this artform has endured year after year, vindications and glorifications like this production expose the true heart and soul of drag and all the people that stand behind it.

If you’re looking for a dramatic, camp, and deeply personal insight into all things drag and queer – or if you’re quite simply looking to support drag performance as an art form – I can recommend nothing more than Slot 4’s Deathwatch.

Deathwatch will be performed for the second run from the 1st-4th of May in the Cellar Theatre. Tickets are available now:  https://events.humanitix.com/suds-presents-deathwatch.

Showrunners:

·       Director: Zoe Le Marinel

·       Assistant Director: Jasmine Jenkins

·       Co-Producers: Rubba Fatima & Alex Ma

Cast:

·   Green-Eyes: Olivia Castree-Croad

·   Jules LeFranc: Amelie James-Power

·   Maurice: Stephanie Kemple

·   The Guard: Taylor Barrett Fair

Crew:

·       Dramaturg: Kat Butler

·       Costume Design: Tamsyn Cotezee & Scout McWhinney

·       Assistant Costume: Gaby Whalland

·       Hair & Makeup: Leo Westgard & Adele Beaumont

·       Lighting Design: Cameron Notr

·       Lighting Assistant: Nasrin Keast

·       Sound Design: Harry Steele

·       Set Design: Sofia Angelini & Celine Kwon

·       Stage Manager: Rose Callaghan

·       Graphic Design: Margot Roberts

·       Photography: Jessica Lau