The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Diary of a Madman at Omnibus

Diary of a Madman at Omnibus | Theatre review
29 October 2014
Joe Manners Lewis
Avatar
Joe Manners Lewis
29 October 2014

The low-ranking civil servant at the beginning of Diary of a Madman is a very different person to the cautious and hunched – yet somehow regal – man at its end. The one-hour stage show, directed by Scott Le Crass and adapted for the stage by Howard Coyler,diary portrays Poprishchin’s descent with legitimacy and humour, but with just a few missteps along the way.

Sticking closely to its literary roots, Gogol’s original short story took the form of a series of farcical diary entries; Poprishchin’s monologue holds on to the freedom of thought contained within the pages of his diary. Witnessing the formation of wild theories, which subsequently mutate into suspicion and eventually utter conviction, is a delight. Poprishchin’s redaction of his own beliefs in favour of wild conspiracy reflects the mind of a young child, perfectly willing to reform his own experiences.

Monologue might be too simple a description for Diary of a Madman, however, as actor David Bromley is joined on stage by disembodied voices. One of these voices is his own, although the performance is ambiguous as to what it represents. Whether it’s Poprishchin’s own train of thought or some sort of recording isn’t clear, but as the voice reads out each diary entry, the Poprishchin on stage riffs on the narration, repeating or predicting his own audio, taking different emphasis and even ignoring it all together.

It’s not the kind of adaptation you might expect. Rather than simply enacting the events in his diary, it feels like Poprishchin is recreating them within the confines of his grey, office-like room, all the while noting down and reciting the words to us and to himself.

Generally speaking, Coyler’s adaptation is successful, retaining Gogol’s wit and absurdity without getting too bogged down in his exact language, but larger changes undermine the play’s authenticity. Relocating the finale from Spain to England is an unnecessary change and mentioning nearby locales in south London for no discernable reason promotes parallels to a low budget village panto. Unexpectedly, though, the story’s visual representation is quick to pique interest. Mimicking the lead character’s journey into madness, both the set and Poprishchin’s wardrobe change inch by inch, then all at once.

Ultimately, a great deal of the play rests solely on Bromley’s unusual but effective performance. Despite an uneven use of multimedia, and some questionable decisions in the adaptation, Diary of a Madman gets to the heart of one of Gogol’s best short stories – talking dogs, noses, overcoats and all.

★★★★★

Joe Manners Lewis

Diary of a Madman is on at the Omnibus Theatre until 30th October 2014, for further information or to book visit here.

Related Itemsdiary of a madmanomnibusreviewtheatre

More in Theatre

Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More

Redemption Room at Secret Theatre Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Rice! at Omnibus Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

24, 23, 22 at Chronic Insanity Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at Southwark Playhouse Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Typical at Soho Theatre

★★★★★
Ella Satin
Read More

Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More

Gatsby at Cadogan Hall: An interview with Jodie Steele and Ross William Wild

Michael Higgs
Read More

Living Record Festival: Ain’t No Female Romeo

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Dates

28th October - 30th October 2014

Price

£10-£12

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Limbo
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Big vs Small
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Women in film introduce favourite female-directed features for new BFI series on 8th March
    Cinema & Tv
  • Body Brokers
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Mouthpiece
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Sentinelle
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Jesus Egon Christ (Jesus Egon Christus)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Jesus Egon Christ: An interview with directors David and Saša Vajda
    Berlinale
  • Vicious Fun
    ★★★★★
    Glasgow
  • Berlinale 2021 winners: The full list
    Berlinale
  • WandaVision
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Coming 2 America
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself
    ★★★★★
    Album review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse | Theatre review
The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman | Movie review