New York City, Times Square the spring of 1992… walking
with my girlfriend (now wife) we came across a rally for presidential hopeful
Bill Clinton accompanied by his wife, Hillary. They looked so impressive in the
cold April sunshine surrounded by cameras, a phalanx of local Democrats and a
growing body of the curious, some not so impressed with this Arkansas upstart this
“slick Willy”. Suddenly Bill smiles and points, apparently recognising someone
in the crowd, “Hi Bob!” he shouts, pointing directly at the attractive redhead
standing next to me – called Catherine by the way. It was a bit of showmanship,
a flash for the camera’s in NYC and, biased as I am, I always felt his eye just
landed on the prettiest person in our section of the crowd.
That’s my Clinton Story and for a while two years ago I
really felt we’d double up on having seen a US president in the flesh – vote Clinton
and get two for the price of one, as their old campaigning had it - but it wasn’t
to be despite her winning the popular vote by over three million.
In Kevin Armento’s smartly constructed new play, Monica –
or Hillary’s construction of Monica – suggests that she gave birth to her political
career, forcing the Clintons to play a much tighter game with the more
controlled and intelligent, Hillary driving the bus much more. But the seeds
for eventual defeat were also laid at this time: “No one bothered to measure
how the stain of it might stay with me; how it might make people feel like I’m corrupt, even if they can’t
quite put their finger on why…”
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| Emma Handy, Kristy Philipps, Daniella Isaacs, Flora Montgomery and Dawn Hope (Photo Helen Murray) |
Hillary stood by her man and, in the absence of the full
details – in this version at least – went out on a limb to defend him. The defence
and offence were full on and whilst there’s a reason this particular political
scandal is name dafter the woman not the politician, it also somehow fell on
the presumed cold shoulders of the woman who became Crooked Hillary.
Armento focuses on the five women at the centre of the
scandal and, whilst the play is ostensibly Hillary’s, Monica is given full
voice too along with the Clinton’s daughter, only a few years younger than the
then 22-year old intern with stars in her eyes.
At various points the other women play Bill’s part – Kristy
Philipps (playing Chelsea) catching his drawl with uncanny precision: he like his
good buddy Tony, were men of charisma and startling self-belief but… no one’s
perfect.
Flora Montgomery makes for a striking Hillary,
intelligent and regretful, hoping for the chance to, eventually, just be herself
and keen to put the truth across through “her play”. Daniella Isaacs is also
good as Monica taking her from greenhorn fan girl to a woman left devastated by
the political process – betrayed by lovers and friends alike, especially her confident
Linda Tripp.
Emma Handy plays Republican Tripp and even gets a small
cheer for her proudly stated conservatism and its practical creed of trusting
no-one and never throwing any potentially useful evidence away. She quotes Ayn
Rand saying the greatest sensation of existence: not to trust but to know… and
reckons that the woman who gets ahead here will be the one who trusts the least.
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| Daniella Isaacs and Flora Montgomery (Photo Helen Murray) |
But both Hillary and Monica trust Bill and both are let
down by him.
So too the President’s Betty (Dawn Hope) whose vast
experience has seen four Democrats in the Oval Office and taught her that loyalty
is the most important asset, and, in this case, loyalty is very much like
trust. Hillary talks of the difference between naiveté and
trust: “naiveté is an inability to see everything in front of you, trust is choosing
not to…” Then we have Chelsea who knows what her father has done but who cannot
help but love him: perhaps that’s trust and knowledge combined.
The Clinton scandal impacts them all and the key piece of
evidence, that stained blue dress, is literally hanging over them all, alongside
Bill’s famously disingenuous statement that he “did not have sexual relationships”
with “that woman”. It sounded too carefully worded, far too awkward, to mean
what it said… Fake; it wasn’t invented by The Donald, even though he’s
a specialist provider, and the nature of belief over evidence is central to our
current disintegration.
It’s an absorbing, play and held us rapt as the women/the
women as Bill, talked of a scandal that has been surpassed by almost everything
in politics: decadence rules the day and, more than ever, we prefer to select
the words that suit our preferences. We all trust far too much and the
Republican’s belief that only the Right has access to the “truth” is yet
another delusion.
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| Flora Montgomery and Kristy Phillips (Photo Helen Murray) |
There’s a dislocated almost dreamy tone throughout
reinforced by lone saxophone player Tashomi Balfour, playing soulful wisps of Charlie
Parker, Coltrane and more in sardonic tribute to Bill’s favourite instrument.
But Balfour’s cool is something you could listen to all night.
Joshua McTaggart directs and there is constant motion as performers
change character and position and the stage design (from Basia Bińkowska) and lighting (props to Jess Bernberg!)
is superb throughout. It’s an atmospheric and very good-looking play that will
haunt me for days.
This is the Bunker’s first production of an American play
and it made its World premier at a time when another philandering President –
one with far less political ability and no moral compass – takes the World
closer to disaster. Trump makes Clinton look so classy; the latter may have liked
a wander, but he had beliefs and wanted to fulfil a public duty as indeed did
Hillary.
But scandal rules are still different for women and this
play is a fascinating exploration of just why.
Devil plays at the Bunker until 28th April – ticketsavailable at the box office and they will be hot!
Ithankyou Rating: **** Sparkling script, top-notch performing and much food for thought.
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| Emma Handy, Daniella Isaacs, Flora Montgomery, Kristy Philipps and Dawn Hope |
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