Review: JARMAN, Greenwich Theatre

Derek Jarman was a huge figure in the arts, in gay culture and in political activism in the 70s, 80s and into the 90s, before AIDS took him at just 52 years of age. He designed sets for Ken Russell and John Gielgud, made experimental and feature films that tapped the Zeitgeist more successfully than most and, at a time when others (some lionised today) were silent about their sexuality and HIV status, he was not. Do not underestimate how much courage that took back then. He gave zero f-cks - well, in one sense.

Mark Farrelly's monologue captures Jarman's disruptive iconoclasm in episodes recounting his unique life. The gay public schoolboy from a military family continually instructed to be ashamed; the young man finding his feet and his identity in theatre and then films; the hedonist in pre-HIV era Soho; the activist who did not go gentle into that good night.

Farrelly may not have met his subject and does not attempt an impersonation, but instead channels the energy of the man, his playfulness, his refusal to accept the norms that had so stifled him in his formative years. What emerges is an artist who may not have been as disciplined as he might have been with the moviemaking mechanics of call sheets and budgets (though he knew to say yes when Channel Four came calling with a £1/2M cheque), but one who inspired others and nurtured talents like Tilda Swinton and Sean Bean.

The show is designed to tour, so Farrelly does much with a handful of props and lights (and one perfectly posed evocation of Sebastiane's iconic film poster) but, for so visual an artist as Jarman, it's a shame not to have clips or photographs to project - many younger people will simply not know of his work and might wonder what the fuss is all about and us older fans would enjoy a little spiky nostalgia. It shouldn't be too difficult to get the technology and rights sorted out these days.

That said, the show is a fine tribute to a pathfinder in so many ways, who, had he lived just a couple of years longer, might still be with us, aged 80, today.

And it's important to bear witness to that lost generation. My son, on seeing Keith Haring's work as an AIDS activist in New York in the 80s, was shaken a little - "I never realised they were so young". That HIV is now a manageable condition in many parts of the world and the worst excesses of the demonising of gay people (once a staple of politicians and media) is consigned to the past, the legacy of Jarman's politics is secure. In the ready availability of his movies on streaming platforms, the same can be said for his artistic legacy too. I suspect he would approve of both those developments - but also that he'd have found something else to disrupt, the old look in the gimlet eye!

Jarman is on tour in the UK

Photo courtesy CNC

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