Exit the King at The Olivier

Romanian born, Eugene Ionesco, was a leading light in “The Theatre of the Absurd” and, as such, is possibly not everyone’s cup of tea.  Add to that equation that his play, Exit the King, currently playing at The Olivier, concerns death and you could attest that it’s not a sure-fire box office hit.  However, there are a couple of major pluses.  Rhys Ifans, plays King Berenger, the remaining cast are excellent and Patrick Marber not only directs but has written this new snappy and, at times, very funny version.

In the early nineteen sixties, having recently turned fifty, Ionesco was suffering from recurring bouts of liver disease.  Becoming convinced that he was nearing the end of his life (he actually lived for another thirty years) this most moribund of men told himself that he could learn how to die.  These thoughts eventually transformed themselves into a drama and Exit the King was born in 1962.  It is not the only Ionesco play to feature a character called Berenger.  The name, although not necessarily the same person, crops up in three others and is offered as a kind of Everyman who finds himself reluctantly doing battle with inexplicable forces, in this case death.

The play is set in an unknown kingdom which King Berenger has ruled for over 450 years.  That it’s in its last throes is obvious, even without the references to the devastating effects of global warning.  This is down to Anthony Ward’s set, which has an enormous crack running down the central wall of the throne room. A crack which enlarges as the play progresses.  However, it’s the king who will be the first to utter the last breath; at the end of the play to be precise.  And lest we forget, the time he has left is periodically spoken out loud by a cast member.  The count-down to his demise begins as soon as the play starts.

Needless to say, the king is not a willing participant in this and neither is Queen Maria (Amy Morgan) his second wife.  Sexy and with an inexplicable French accent (perhaps to accentuate her sexiness), Maria doesn’t want to face up to the fact that her husband has only a few hours left.  Queen Marguerite (Indira Varma) his first and more sensible wife, is much more phlegmatic and the contrast between her and the more favoured younger one is played out to joyous effect.  Alongside these we have The Guard (Derek Griffiths) decked out like a toy soldier, The Doctor (Adrian Scarborough) in wizard-like pointy hat and a “prattish” servant called Juliette (Debra Gillett).

Rhys Ifans is unrecognisable.  His long lanky frame, encased in blue PJ’s once his ceremonial robes have been divested, mirrors his long lanky wig.  There is no doubt that the actor who made Spike so memorable in the movie Notting Hill is no one trick pony.  Switching from a Richard III tyrannical despot to a frail old man with legs that won’t hold his weight, Ifans frightens and moves us in equal measure.  And how refreshing that he has no qualms about looking downright ugly, not only here with his make-up smudged, Geisha like face and pull on bobble hat, but also in his recent roles as The Fool to Glenda Jackson’s Lear and Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, both at The Old Vic.  Ionesco states that in learning of his impending death Berenger moves from denial to anger through to bargaining and depression, and Ifans portrays all this to perfection.  A tour de force if ever I saw one.

He is ably helped by the rest of the cast.  Indira Varma plays icy cool severity brilliantly and is every inch the senior, if not more popular Queen.  Amy Morgan is the perfect opposite and there is no better actor than Adrian Scarborough at portraying pomposity.  Add Debra Gillett’s humorous slapstick servant to the mix and the final dramatic scene, and Exit the King, although undeniably strange and maybe a touch too long, is worth the price of a ticket.