Foreskins Lament

100487 original

Choosing a local New Zealand rugby team as the subject for a play is not as daft an idea as some might imagine.

The sense of loyalty and camaraderie surrounding the rugby team, the trust that players place in each other and the chance of things going drastically wrong means there’s great potential for conflict and quasi-Shakespearian tragedy, especially amongst the Kiwis who are passionate to a fault over rugby.

Unfortunately Foreskins Lament comes close to good drama but never quite hits the mark. The characters are all stock types, too lacking in depth for the audience to ever really understand them. Clean (whose nickname, like the other players, is only vaguely explained) scowls and acts the tough villain, but we’re never offered an understanding as to why he’s such a bastard. Foreskin has a noticeably different attitude to the others with his "Univarsity" education, but the delivery of his intendly refined lines is clunky at best and descends into the downright ridiculous by the end. Moira acts simply as a voice of explanation for the play and as a counterpart to the traditional coach, Tupper, while the other characters slowly fade into the background.

There are tantalising glimpses into issues of class, masculinity and violence in the game of rugby here, which is why Foreskins Lament is so frustrating in its failure to tackle its material, or to convert interesting social commentary into a coherent and intelligent production.