Joanna Laurens’ “Five Gold Rings” has loftier things in mind than the mere settling of domestic scores
by Matt Wolf | January 4, 2004 | Variety
Five Gold Rings with Will Keen,Helen McCrory,David Calder,Damien Lewis,Indira Varma Directed by Michael Attenborough opens at the Almeida Theatre on 18/12/03 CREDIT Geraint Lewis
Not every dysfunctional family drama contains lines like, “It is art to fly speech in the air,” but Joanna Laurens’ Almeida Theater entry “Five Gold Rings” has loftier things in mind than the mere settling of domestic scores. In her sophomore play following her much-praised debut effort “The Three Birds” (which I missed), Laurens wants to reinvent the discourse in such plays, trading in a time-worn naturalism for a heightened language that less charitably inclined playgoers likely will find wearing.
That the evening possesses the considerable fascination it does honors both director Michael Attenborough, in his second consecutive play at this address as Almeida a.d. (following Neil LaBute’s “The Mercy Seat”), and a blue-chip cast of British theater veterans (David Calder) and ascending younger talents (Damian Lewis, Helen McCrory), all of whom are in top form. Sure, “Five Gold Rings” may sound at times as if it has been translated from Latin, but it’s unlikely to encounter more gifted interpreters.
