The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas

I’ve come late to this love-it-or-hate-it Dennis Kelly play at the Royal Court, having had to cancel a planned visit earlier in the run. I almost left at the interval, but didn’t, and this was one occasion when I’m glad I didn’t. It’s taken me another week to decide what I think about it, during which time I also read it (I knew those programme / playscripts would come in handy one day).

In the first thirty minutes we get the whole life of the title character from birth to the end of his first marriage, told by the ensemble as narrators, in turns, mostly in short one-liners. This went on for an irritatingly long time and the play appeared to be going nowhere. Then we have a scene where nice(ish) Gorge becomes nasty Gorge when he aids a predatory takeover of his employer’s company, knowing full well it isn’t in his boss’ best interests. From here on it’s the rise (and fall) of a man who has lost his moral compass. He builds a business empire, ensnares his second wife by mirroring her abusive past, writes a book about his own and ends up rich but sad, thinking everything can be bought – including his brother and unknown grandson who turn up and turn his life upside down.

The final two acts are a big improvement on the prologue and first act, but it’s still a long and heavy-handed way of showing us how morally corruptible one man can become – presumably presented as a sign of our times. The three acts are interrupted by similar, but shorter, narration as the prologue and that continued to irritate me. It’s an overlong and uneven ride, but it has its moments and I have sympathy with the underlying message. Tom Brooke is remarkable as Gorge (I’m still not sure if and why he’s lost his ‘e’) and there’s excellent support from the rest of the cast.

This isn’t Dennis Kelly at his best, and not a particularly auspicious start for Vicky Featherstone’s tenure at The Royal Court, but it isn’t as bad as some would have you believe and it is timely and original – but not the success we’d have liked to bring in the new.