When Philemon, a young black man living in South Africa's Sophiatown in the 1950s, discovers that his beloved wife, Matilda, has been unfaithful, he comes up with an unusual and cruel punishment. Tipped off by a friend, Philemon surprises his wife and her lover, the latter escaping through the window wearing only his underpants and leaving his suit behind. Philemon dictates that the suit must become an honoured guest in his and Matilda's lives. The suit will eat with them, sleep with them, even accompany them on walks. Not for a moment will Matilda ever be able to forget what she has done.
Not since Banquo turned up at the Macbeths' dinner table has there been such an unsettling spectre at a party than the one Philemon insists on inviting to his wife's little do.
This short story by Can Themba was originally adapted for the stage by Market Theatre of Johannesburg, but is seen here in a French production with English surtitles by the director Peter Brook.
Brook, of course, is at the disadvantage of being one of a handful of directors who suffers the burden of our expectations. We want him to produce miracles in the theatre, and when - as here - the miracle doesn't happen, we feel inordinately disappointed.
Le Costume isn't a stunner, but it is perfectly good. It is small and rather playfully done, although it still feels very much like a story that hasn't quite made the leap from page to stage. The characters have to carry the narrative, and keep telling you, rather than showing you, what they are doing. While the piece's studied lack of sophistication is often charming, this self-conscious charm only goes so far in the theatre.
There are times when the repetitiveness of the stage pictures created, largely with the aid of a clothes rail, becomes slightly irritating, but what really concerns me is just what a truly horrible story this is. It is hard to feel sympathy for Philemon, whose sadistic punishment of his wife is so extreme, so carefully planned, so humiliating and such a demonstration of his male power over her that you start to feel that a spell in a mental hospital is in order. A tragedy is not really a tragedy when you leave the theatre thinking that he deserved to lose her and she is better off dead.
· Until September 13. Box office: 020-7928 6363.
