On the Waterfront

39658 original

With a total runtime just shy of three hours, complete with a most welcome interval break, Steven Berkoff’s eagerly awaited production of On the Waterfront is a great presence in Edinburgh this summer, if not something of a Fringe bully. It’s a heavily bolstered play, brandishing a team of 12 experienced actors with a whopping 18 more credits going to those involved who we don’t see on stage. Quite unlike the archetypal actor-director-producer units that give the Fringe its most cordial face.

Now, this is a play that through sheer attrition beats its way to the top of the crop. Its most notable strength, the choreography and set design, is based on resources that most companies at the Fringe have painfully limited access to, and by volume alone this triumphs over most of the other contenders. And be warned that in all its weighty extravagance it will challenge your stamina. The tightly packed seats in the Pleasance Grand are not designed to keep audiences comfy for periods as long as three hours. Year round it’s a university sports hall and occasionally the place where students come to sit their exams. Your back and knees will be put to the test this time, and you won’t even be allowed to ask to go to the loo.

All things considered, this stage adaptation of the multiple award-winning Hollywood milestone starring Marlon Brando ticks all the necessary boxes. It feels large, cinematic, and the actors—the best that Berkoff has ever worked with apparently—hold up the heavy themes of mob rule and union intimidation well enough. But this is more about style than characters, and the real star of the show is the nightmarishly noir visual tricks that take the play to some even darker places than those the film unearthed. The better scenes are those that boast engaging visual ideas as opposed to dramatic ones. A characteristic production, perhaps, but the Fringe brims with plenty of character across the board, and if you know where to look, you can be sure to find better compensation for your time and money in smaller venues with smaller people.