The Devil May Care

Southwark Playhouse Borough

Tension builds throughout the piece, lives are at stake and the audience are sat on the edge of their seats. 'The Devil May Care' has potential, storyline elements lack clarity and context.

What a gripping storyline! However, some scenes lack relevance and leave the audience struggling to follow the context. 'The Devil May Care', written by Mark Giesser, is set in 1899 during the war between the US and the Philippines. The US are preventing the Philippines from obtaining their country's independence. The story is based on 'The Devil's Disciple', a play written by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw in 1897. A catalytic event occurs: the father of the Conroe family has shockingly passed away. All characters are gobsmacked that Richard Conroe, known as the 'Devil's Disciple', has inherited the Conroe family home through a last-minute change of the will. The mother, Adele Conroe, is desperately trying to find a loophole and the audience find she is willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure Richard does not receive the Conroe inheritance. What extremities is she willing to go to? Is Richard as bad as they visualise him?

All characters are hiding secrets; as the story unfolds each character's true colours leak through the cracks; created from their weakness following the catalytic event. Callum Woodhouse plays 'Richard Conroe', he plays his character with charisma and much to the distaste of the other characters; he has power over them. He is unapologetically who he is, Woodhouse makes Conroe a witty, confident and at times comic character. He draws the audience in with his confusing character and potential warm side; shown through the sacrifice he is willing to make. Whilst Isabel Conroe, played by Izyan Hay, is a character of many layers. Isabel Conroe is a family member who is shunned upon by the Conroe family for the way she was born into the family. Hay is an actress to watch, she plays Isabel as an empowering, strong, female character. She moves and speaks with aim and clear determination; this distinctly shows how her character, who is part Philippine, cares for the country she was born in, those who are mistreated and she fights for freedom. Regardless of the magnitude of the detriment that may come from her actions. Her performance is captivating. Beth Burrows plays the priest's wife 'Judith Burrows', and her acting is incredibly natural. Her character arc is clear and captivating; she starts off a strong, confident women, she begins to question herself, her values and her marriage. Her character is clearly a new person by the end of the play, when her confidence returns and her mindset evolves; her character develops a deep connection with the audience, because of how vulnerable her character is.

What the show lacks is the clarity of the context, the scenes that unveil to the audience the effects of the war, events and opinions of the government/military are unclear, ambiguous and confusing. For audience members who may not have knowledge of the war between the US and Philippines, more time and attention to detail should be made to ensure the information within the lines is made clearer to the audience. Whilst the storyline of the characters within the play is compelling, the elements relevant to the context are not given enough detail. It is clear that Isabel Conroe and Paul Prestwick (the priest) are working in tandem in spreading pamphlets that encourage troops to work against the US military and disobey their rules to help gain the freedom of the Philippines. However, the relevance of the scenes set in other parts of the Philippines showing how they live differently, and the scenes set in the US with cast playing relevant members of the US government making speeches cause confusion. They are unclear, disrupt the flow of the play and disengage the audience.

An engaging element of the piece was the use of set; it was minimalistic, but very strong and effective. Images of colourful, exotic leaves and plants are used as a backdrop, which highlights the jungle setting the cast refer to throughout the piece. The piece is set in a town in the Philippines on the island of Luzon. An American flag is hung on a flagpole and this reminds the audience of the law and rules the US enforces upon the citizens of the Philippines. This emphasises the themes of control, western power and also the opposition. Interestingly, the theme of opposition is displayed through the use of the flag; Judith Prestwick, played by Beth Burrows, mockingly waves the flag erratically in a scene to show her distaste towards some of the actions areas of the US military are making that are not what the US government intended or know of and as they maybe offensive/hurtful would worsen the US military's image. These significant minor details reflect areas of the context.

Whilst the play is tense and gripping what you learn about the subject area is minimal. The main plot is what is most compelling and other scenes outside main plot line are disengaging and confusing. There is room for condensing scenes and spending more time displaying the context through the characters in the main storyline. American accents have moments of weakness in areas of the piece, which can be distracting at times. However, Woodhouse and Lyson maintain their accents well throughout; both have moments of switching to characters that speak with an English accent and the changes from one to the other is strong. This play holds a very important message about the western world, and it is relevant to the modern day. With a clearer context, making the show a little shorter and transitions from scene to scene smoother this play could be strong. One to watch and a selection of talented actors.