A supposedly chance meeting on the subway sparks sexual and racial frisson with catastrophic results. Or so the blurb suggests. Problem is this production of LeRoi Jones” Dutchman is too overplayed and farcical to provoke any discussion.
Any tension that might be built up by the script is destroyed by hammy performances and one overriding fact – people avoid nutters on the tube.
Admittedly it is unfair to slate Eugene Washington’’s portrayal of Clay, as he seems better than this, but Naomi Wattis is laughable as the murderous Lula.
While her grating delivery lives up to the schizophrenic Lula, her loudness destroys the attraction Clay should feel and makes what should be erotic and alluring just plain annoying.
Mercifully Dutchman is short and we are released before we walk out.
Dutchman is preposterous, tiring and not worth the effort.
1/5
Richard Biggs
