Glynis Henderson Productions' A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Theatre Royal Winchester 7th October 2013

Male beauty met the male grotesque tonight in Glynis Henderson Productions’ version of A Clockwork Orange. The show opens with a balletic battle in which a thrust of the crotch is used to threaten as often as a brandished fist. For one hundred and ten minutes the ten man cast captivated the audience with their sometimes graceful, sometimes brutal physicality and a Shakespearean delivery of Nadsat that any RSC alumni would be proud of.

This is not an easy play, it is hard to find a likeable character amongst either the villains or the victims. In this version, cast as an all-male ensemble, all the actors cast as villains, excepting Alexander DeLarge, also play victims and vice-versa, which subtly reinforces one of the main messages about modern society (as relevant now as it was in 1962) in Burgess’ novel. It would be unjust to pick out one actor as the star of the show, this performance is truly an ensemble piece. DeLarge is portrayed with intensity and was incredibly convincing in his physical reactions and I was impressed by the ease with which all the other actors transformed from one character to another, mostly by using only their bodies and voices. They may not have made the characters more likeable but I certainly enjoyed watching them.

Music is hugely important to the character of DeLarge and the plotline and I loved the soundtrack to this production. Several visually powerful scenes (the courtroom comes to mind) and all the scene changes (always danced, always part of the performance) were enhanced by retaining the classical music but also using modern songs with a classical edge.

I was lucky enough to get a front row seat for the opening night of this performance. I can only advise you to get any seat you can, you won’t regret it.