Theatre: Heart of Darkness Ben Redwood sees an almost flawless production by Ben Redwood Wednesday 22nd May 2013, 09:49 BST The thing is, this performance was made incredibly eerie by the fact that Guy Clark, sole actor as Marlow, turned out to be my look-alike. Admittedly, a few facial features are different, but the similarity was still unnerving. In certain lights, it was like watching a video of myself. I therefore felt no guilt in checking out our muscle definition when he took his top off; and mercifully, I don't scrub up too bad. Lacan eat your heart out. I suppose you could therefore argue that this review will be inherently biased, in that all the following praise may actually be a manifestation of ruthless narcissism. Nevertheless, Heart of Darkness is a brilliant translation of Conrad's haunting parable of idealism, adventure, morality, colonialism, and fathomless human nature, into the theatre; George Johnston has done a terrific job in making the cuts nearly imperceptible, achieving a powerful flow while allowing for easy comprehension. CORPUS PLAYROOM Heart of Darkness Maddie Skipsey's directorial choices were brilliant. The simple set encouraged imagination; the occasional rasp of whispers intruded in at points of tension, enhancing... (read more)

This adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, directed by Maddie Skipsey and written by George Johnston, plunges the audience into the depths of the colonial nightmare. In this one-man performance, Marlow (Guy Clark) narrates his journey along the Congo River where he encounters the terrifying power and despair of the ivory-trader Mr Kurtz. Telling such an expansive narrative with a simple set, based around a few wooden boxes, and a cast of one may seem over-ambitious for a student production. Without any visual aids, it is up to the character of Marlow alone to pull us along the Congo in a stream of sensations, memories and encounters. There were sometimes difficulties and Clark's narration was most potent when he allowed Conrad's descriptions to bear their full weight. At times the shifts between accents and voices seemed rushed and uncertain. Clark must be credited though for the captivating intensity of his monologue; by the second-half his characterizations were wholly engaging. The writhing body of Kurtz on the wooden boxes and the Russian man's impassioned veneration of Kurtz convincingly revealed the seductive nature of power. The lighting design by Henry St Leger-Davey was fundamental to making the audience imagine the ‘horror'... (read more)

Unsurprisingly, we were intrigued to see how Conrad’s canonical novella was to take to the stage. Or, more specifically, take to the stage in the form of a one man show. It was certainly a bold move on behalf of Cambridge student George Johnston to adapt the book into a continuous monologue – but this is not your typical monologue showcase in the depths of Corpus Playroom. Arguably, it isn’t a one man show at all. Guy Clark was nothing short of fantastic. Playing Marlow, the enigmatic sailor who narrates his experiences in the Congolese ivory trade, Clark refuses merely to relate the story – instead he brings all the characters to life. Displaying an impressive repertoire of accents (ranging from Belgian to an admirable Russian) and assuming multiple different roles, Clark never fell into the trap of a clichéd rallying back and forth when playing two disparate characters. Instead, he embodies all the roles fully, and we are never confused about who’s who. In a play so full of many little but crucial roles and voices, Clark manages to portray their individuality without subordinating his own overarching voice as narrator. Inevitably, the lines with which he is presented are... (read more)