One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Review
Review by Rebecca Omonira-Oyekanmi
THE theatre production of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (at London’s Garrick) is an enjoyable tale about the struggle of an ordinary man against an all-powerful authority.
Writer Dale Wasserman recreates Ken Kesey’s alarming novel about the inhumane way mentally ill inmates are treated, bringing to life the hero of the book, the likeable Randle Patrick McMurphy.
McMurphy, accused of raping a 15-year-old, feigns madness to avoid a prison sentence. Placed in an asylum where Nurse Ratched rules with an iron fist, what begins as an attempt to assert himself as ‘top dog’ becomes a campaign to destabilise the institution. In the process, McMurphy forms some unlikely friendships and awakens many sedated spirits.
Despite the play’s easy misogyny (McMurphy seems able to form a jolly relationship with Dr Spivey, one of the head doctors of the institution who authorises all of Nurse Ratched’s actions) its premise and the energetic performances of the actors render it delightfully entertaining.
The comic undertones of the script used to abate the depressingly familiar problems of the inmates are bought vividly to life by all the actors.
In particular, Paul Ready as Billy Bibbitt gave a realistic performance. Billy has a stutter and a fear of women, in particular his mother, a weapon used cruelly by Nurse Ratched. Ready gave a convincing and often funny portrayal of the tragic character.
Undoubtedly the star attraction of this particular production of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest was Christian Slater, who fortunately did not disappoint as McMurphy.
Despite the fact that the horrors of mental institutions are rooted firmly as a subject relevant to the 60’s, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest taps into a sense of disillusionment with and distrust of authority not alien to contemporary society. An interesting tragic-comedy worth seeing.