In looks, manner and voice Christian McKay
is a convincing Orson Welles, but it is his superb one man
performance which brings Welles to life – his acerbic wit and his
driven nature to succeed artistically in his own terms. Opening with
the Harry Lime character, the action quickly moves to explore his
comfortable childhood years as a prodigious talent in everything
except sport.
Naturally, the background to the well
documented events of his artistic life when he was in his twenties
are included – the radio version of H.G.Welles ‘War of the
Worlds’ which caused panic through its realism, and the film
classic ‘Citizen Kane’. What clearly emerges was that despite
his colossal talent to write, perform, produce and direct, if the
powerful, whether they be individuals or the political system were
attacked, they were vindictive in their response.
His greatest difficulty in what might have
been his most productive years was gaining finance to fund the films
he wished to make. Hence in his own eyes, he stooped to performing
in the most trite of TV commercials.
As the play draws to conclusion, we enter
into a dark and poignant period as Christian McKay transforms
himself into the obese, Falstaffian figure of Welles final years.
The frustration and bitterness are clearly apparent in that the
films he could have made and should have been released will never be
appreciated.
Full credit is due not only to Christian
McKay for a compelling performance but also to writer Mark Jenkins
and director Josh Richards for this quality production. As for
Rosebud – that was a surprise!
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