It’s a real challenge to stage such a complex conformist piece of absurdist theatre like Eugene Ionesco’s ‘Rhinoceros’.  I felt that director, Sarah Melville-Watson, made a good attempt in her direction to get across the play’s metaphors and not so subtle symbolism.  Ionesco’s ‘Rhinoceros’, in a new translation by British playwright Martin Crimp, is clearly a ‘theatre of the absurd’ play.

BY BRIAN SWANN

As it represents the relentless tide of conformity, as in the play, society admits their failures, accepts the horrors of convention and one by one turn into rhinoceroses.  Full of strong social and political undertones stemming from the playwright’s experiences of living in the Second World War in Romania during the rise of Nazism. I felt the play had interesting casting decisions as it could have been a stronger piece as an all-female production and the accents did lead to confusion in where the play was meant to be set. But when you put aside slight distractions, the lighting design was very impressive in capturing the tone of the play, and the set-design was simplistic and very effective. Overall the commitment of the cast and crew was shown in the production. While elements could have been improved, you respect the choices the director made that led to a thoughtful and enjoyable production.