BWW Reviews: BERKOFF - ONE MAN, Riverside Studios, April 16 2011

Like his near contemporary, Alan Bennett, Steven Berkoff has spent decades casting a gimlet eye at society and satirised it - in Bennett's case gently, in Berkoff's case, brutally. Neither has been recognised with a gong - no doubt at their own request - and it's hard to imagine either of them at Buckingham Palace, kowtowing to the monarch - though both would make excellent, and very different, comic dramas of the day. Both are happy to work in film and television, but theatre is their true home and the best place to see their work. In One Man (at The Riverside Studios until April 23), Berkoff parades his unique brand of storytelling.

"Tell Tale Heart", opens with him standing in a pool of light on a black, blank stage, bald and ashen (think Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu) to mime, joke and snarl his way through Poe's meditation on murder and madness. As the story moves towards its terrible denouement, Berkoff voice, body and face shriek, twist and contort, reflecting the mind's turmoil. With no set, no props and no other actors, Berkoff is free to construct his own world - just the way he likes it. 

In the second half, Berkoff foists upon us a pit bull and his hooligan owner, all casual racism, East End bonhomie and consensual (well, mainly consensual) violence. "Dog" is not just pre-Cameron, it's pre-Blair and it can feel dated at times, but anyone who grew up watching Alexei Sayle's unaffectionate portrayal of a Cockney wide boy or Al Murray's rather more affectionate Pub Landlord, will be familiar with the strident yob, striding about the stage. There's real poignancy too when Berkoff switches character to Roy, the pit bull, slobbering after food, pulling on the chain, wondering if his owner really will put him to sleep. Sure it's funny, but the sadness comes from the link between the two - Roy on his chain lead, straining to escape, and his owner, just as trapped by his poverty of imagination.    

He's 73 now, Berkoff, and, though he clearly loves his work, he can't go on forever, so catch him while you can - there's nothing quite like it.

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