Making films isn’t necessarily about talent. If you have the right look or, better still, the right agent you can get work without a modicum of skill. However, if you’re trying to do a film on stage you better know what you’re doing. Thankfully Clod Ensemble aren’t talentless hacks and have done a superb job at creating a silent movie for the stage.
Greed tells the comic tragedy of the fall and rise of a simple dentist and his wife. After stumbling upon a miracle mouthwash during a drinking binge, the couple’s meteoric rise and success feeds an ugly monster and signals the beginning of their eventual downfall.
Sarah Cameron and Jason Thorpe’s enigmatic performances as the doomed couple are astounding, as they manage to mimic the delivery and mannerisms of the likes of Chaplin and Keaton. Admittedly, the intricacies of their actions are sometimes lost, due to a lack of props, but they do manage to recreate the feel of silent films. This isn’t entirely down to them, as John Paul Gandy’s live piano accompaniment and a fantastic use of lighting and monochromatic props complete the illusion of celluloid.
Greed is funny, sad and compelling, but it has to be said that it occasionally flounders. Some scenes just don’t drive the plot on at enough of a pace, but, in the greater scheme of things, this is forgivable.
While lacking the biting satire one might have expected, Greed is a highly enjoyable look at human foibles and has to be seen to be believed. The prospect of an hour of mime might but a lot of people off but Greed really does prove that silence is golden.
4/5
Richard Biggs
