Victims of Duty

115270 original

Eugene Ionesco's Victims of Duty is one of the more light-hearted works in the French playwright's distinguished theatrical repertoire. A thoroughly post-modern deconstruction of dramatic form and literary convention, it lacks the unsettling menace and dehumanised non-characters of his later works, instead favouring a playful exploration of dream and memory.

Student drama group Production 22 have already amassed awards for their English language adaption of this absurdist piece. No doubt their rapid rise to prominence has been greatly facilitated by the winsome ease with which they present this blithe work of anarchy. Protagonist Choubert, moments after ruminating on the mundane predictability of sleuth stories, is led through a physical world of memory by a charismatic detective. The detective, ostensibly searching for a missing person, becomes progressively more aggressive with his demands as the narrative develops through Gondry-like sequences of dream and memory. Choubert's tasks become increasingly repetitive and meaningless, and the play climaxes in a dinful celebration of chaos.

It's a pleasurable tale that is more well-rounded than it's message might suggest, and ably expounded through a framework of smart, ironic dialogue. Choubert possesses a hapless vulnerability that draws a sympathetic audience along, and the other characters seem comfortably at ease with the demands imposed upon them by Ionesco's devious script.

This is an economical, lucid adaption of a deliberately obtuse work. Production 22 deserves their recognition thus far, and an injection of quality writing should see this acceleration continue.