Ghost From a Perfect Place, Arcola Theatre

The Arcola production of Ghost From A Perfect Place is the first major revival of Philip Ridley's 1994 play. Part of what came to be known as the nineties 'in-yer-face' school of writing, and associated with playwrights such as Sarah Kane, this play relies on a mixture of shock value and themes of memory and violence. When the show premiered at Hamptead Theatre, critic Michael Billington described a scene of women enacting violence upon a lone man as 'pornographic.' An ironic statement to say the least, but Ridley's script doesn't shy away from the female fantasy element of this scene. It will be interesting to see whether the play is adapted accordingly. 

The lead Travis Flood, an erstwhile gangster, returns to the East End expecting to be remembered as a local hero, but instead is anything but.  His replacement is the female Rio, and the success of the drama is somewhat dependent on how well the actors can create this dynamic without reducing it to older man gawping at younger woman. 

It is a strange play, rarely performed perhaps because of the divisive combination of gritty realism and Pinter-esque dialogue, but will be an intriguing exploration of memory and how we perceive ourselves and others nevertheless.