REVIEW: Thief at The Stage Door Theatre 22 – 25 May 2024

“this fearless anniversary performance bravely bristles with lyrical depravity” ★★ ½

Inspired by the life of transgressive French playwright, Jean Genet ("Do I look like a Jean?!" the man known only as Sailor asks the audience in the first few minutes, “Sebastian? Victor?”), this fearless anniversary performance of Thief by Liam Rudden bravely bristles with lyrical depravity. And, underneath the intentional grotesquery, you can kind of see Rudden’s obvious admiration for the prolific French writer. It makes for a nice homage, which gives the play a sort of double life, a parallel intertextual reality that engages with Genet’s themes and values. But on its surface, it’s a straightforward, one-act solo show told through a series of nihilistic musings and dark philosophies. 

Sailor (Lee Fanning) is a sadomasochistic vagabond, bumping along the squalid gutters of Europe, prostituting himself, causing havoc, and picking lice from his crotch. He’s an anarchist who lives for ‘robbery, imprisonment and expulsion’, but through a series of harrowing existentialist monologues we learn about the abuse he’s suffered that’s caused him to play by a completely different set of rules. 

The photo-negative world he lives in is a complete inversion of all our given sensibilities, like one big thought experiment, a topsy-turvy place where beauty is ugliness and ugliness is bliss. Violence is relief and imprisonment is freedom. He relishes in the pain and poverty of his existence. In this way, the play has constant shock-value, but, crucially, not without purpose, as it’s relevant to Genet’s own life and also his literary movement. Its jarring tonal shifts, annihilation of the fourth wall, and sudden assaults on the senses are all consistent with its roots in the theatre of cruelty, and I think if the audience is armed with some contextual knowledge, they will enjoy where this production is coming from. It's not really meant to be an easy watch – that’s the point. 

Fanning does a great job in a physically and emotionally demanding role. He’s committed to the character wholeheartedly, which is saying something given how gross, though not dislikable, Sailor really is. You’ve got to admire the intensity of his performance: he quite literally bares it all. But there is something a little opaque about the delivery that keeps you too much at arm’s length for full engagement. This could be a creative choice – again, it has its finger in a particular artistic movement – but there may be other interpretations that could bring you in a little closer and prevent it feeling quite so flat (though, let’s be fair, that’s pretty subjective). 

Looking elsewhere, lighting, by Richard Lambert, is reliably flawless, quietly confident, telling its own story without the need for words or action; you know where you are, how you should feel, and where your mind’s going, subtly achieving the literal, figurative, and emotional simultaneously. It's worth noting that creative teams like these are what gives the Stage Door Theatre some of the most professional productions on the circuit.

For me, though, Thief lacks something structurally, maybe it feels a bit front-loaded: there’s a satisfyingly punchy, but really quite sudden ending (though top notch final monologue). And there is indeed some cracking writing, but it doesn’t feel totally consistent. I can’t help but compare it to some other emotionally juggernaut solo shows. Although thematically different, it reminds me of the similarly down and dirty vibe of Jack Holden’s Cruise, a breathtaking solo piece, so alive that it feels as though the cast is in the hundreds. Sadly, though I like what it’s doing conceptually, on a literal level Thief doesn’t reach those same heights for me. 

Now, all that said, don’t get me wrong, this play is still of solid quality. It’s smart and edgy, like a lot of the best theatre. So go and see it – but keep your belongings with you, because Thief will certainly steal your attention.

Thief by Liam Rudden

Directed by Liam Rudden

Stage Door Theatre, 22 – 25 May 2024

Box Office: https://www.stagedoortheatre.co.uk/thief-by-liam-rudden-22-25-may/

Reviewed by Alix Owen