Kunstler by Jeffrey Sweet. The White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 to 18 May 2024. 4✩✩✩✩ Review: William Russell.
Kunstler by Jeffrey Sweet. The White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 to 18 May 2024.
4✩✩✩✩ Review: William Russell.
“A powerful portrait of a great American.”
A terrific performance from Jeff McCarthy as the highly idiosyncratic American civil rights lawyer, William Kunstler keeps one watching Jeffrey Sweet’s play about a man far from a household word here. It is a bit like asking a middle American audience to be interested in say Esther Rantzen, who is every bit as colourful as Kunstler was but probably not a household word there. Kunstler was hero or villain, depending on your politics and Sweet has him turning up to deliver a lecture at a university where the academic who is his host has been someone who objected to the invitation – she does not approve of his methods which allow for a lot of headline grabbing - while the students who oppose him are doing what they are currently doing but for different establishment reasons and making noisy protests outside. Directed by Meagan Fay it has been staged simply and effectively and McCarthy does create a real rapport with his audience – there is no fourth wall – involving them in what he is telling Kunstler’s host played by Nykila Norman. From the days of Martin Luther King through the battles over Vietnam Kunstler, who died in 1995, was there arousing the fury of the right with the way he seized the headlines. He was clearly difficult, mischievous at times, and took no prisoners in the battles he fought. He defended the Black Panthers, the Chicago Seven, the American Indian Movement and even the mobster John Gotti, was an advocate for civil rights, worked with Martin Luther King, backed the feminist movement and stood up for gay rights throughout his career. He said that inustice thrived when people closed their eyes to it and the duty of an attorney was to shine a light on the dark corners of society. Go and be enlightened.
Cast
Jeff McCarthy – Kunstler.
Nykila Norman – Kerry.
Creatives
Director – Meagen Fay.
Composer/Sound Designer – Will Severin.
Costume Designer – Elivia Bovenzi.
