Oleanna

When: 10th June 2021

Where: Cambridge Arts Theatre, Cambridge

Writer: David Mamet

Director: Lucy Bailey

(These are my views on the play almost immediately after coming out of the theatre. However since reflecting on it I have a completely different view, which I will explain further down. I am leaving this in as I think it is interesting to see my initial thoughts)

Whilst Oleanna had a good idea, I don't think it was executed to the best it could be. I struggled to get into the play, and once I thought I was almost there it ended. Being the story of sexual harassment and the difficulties of differing interpretations and meanings, I found it lacking of any pure emotion. 

The final scene was dramatic, the professor was angered and lashed out at his student, although I struggled to gage a proper opinion on how I felt about it. The play gave me little information on their backgrounds, and this added with the minimal interactions that we saw take place made it very difficult for me to gain sympathy for either character, despite being a female college student myself. It was also this final moment when I thought I was finally getting into it, I was finally understanding a little more about the claims she had made against him and her perception of their interactions. However that is where it ended. 

In the beginning I found it hard to understand where the story was headed, he seemed very focused on his ideas on education and she just wanted to succeed. I didn't think anything of their interactions. Although there may have been some sort of invasion of personal space, I couldn't see anything to indicate that she would press charges. This was not helped by her lack of reaction to his actions. I think if she had done something to move away from him or to protect herself, the themes of the piece may have been clearer. For this reason the second part came as a surprise (although I did know it was coming due to reading the description before), I found it confusing. I couldn't understand why she had taken these actions so quickly, and found it hard to sympathise with her. As for the professor I think the minor attempts at including the backstory of him buying a house were not enough, and in fact created somewhat of a distraction from the main focus. 

Similarly the interruptions of the phone seemed to add little to the play, except from not allowing it to reach a peak. If they had perhaps come later, and left some of the emotions to grow the whole performance could have been stronger. I also think that more emphasis on the fact that his wife was still on the phone at the end, could have elevated the play further, and maybe added another layer. It just simply ignored the fact, and I would not be surprised if much of the audience had forgotten.

On the up side, I felt that the role reversal, and shift in power was effective. It was clear through their costuming and their speech. Particularly the movement of the line 'I don't understand' which originated with the student, but by the end was said by the professor. I also found the lighting choices interesting, the shadows that were created helped to reflect the shadow of his family on the situation and the effect that the situation has on his family. However there were also prominent moments between each scene where the lights turned to dim white squares, and the actors left the stage. This moment of silence must have had a meaning and reason for being there, but I struggled to find this. I also don't think this was helped by the lack of respect held by the audience, I was there with fellow college students, and during these moments of silence (and throughout much of the performance) they continued to mutter and talk between themselves.

I also wanted to make the note, that I found it clear that the story was written by a man. From the way the characters were presented it was clear that the writer had no personal connection to the story of the female student. I don't think the feelings of a woman in that position were correctly portrayed. Perhaps taking a different approach and developing the characters to have deeper emotion and meaning, could have helped to make the story more realistic and relatable. 

After reflecting on the play I realise that all the points above are what the playwright wanted me to think. The play restricts emotions and only gives a narrow view on purpose. This is all done to emphasis the fact that when people make accusations such as sexual harassment, as an outside eye you don't get all the information. The person telling you the story will only tell you their perception of the actions that took place. For me I didn't see anything in the first section of the play, and therefore when she made her claims I couldn't understand why, this is how you are supposed to feel. Her lack of reaction to his actions during this first part, made me think that she was most likely bending the truth to fit her needs and that she didn't really believe everything she had said to the committee. This was emphasised by her argument right at the beginning when she complains that he only got to where he is because he is a white male. This perhaps was the spark that set off the allegations she makes later on. It feels like this is only a snip it of the full story that has little personal emotion, and this is cleverly used to reflect how difficult it is to pick the truth out of these sorts of situations. 

After this realisation I am now struggling to reconcile with this. I think in the modern day these ideas aren't what we want to be teaching people. I think it is important that we take these sorts of allegations seriously, and although some may be twisting the truth if that is what someone believes then it needs to be explored. I also think that by questioning the validity of the students accusations it is weakening her position, and the position of women as a whole. By encouraging us to not fully believe her I feel that I am being pushed to side with the man, and that once again he does truly have the power. To me the moral of the story feels anti-feminist and is not a good representation of the position we are currently in as a society.