'Tree', written by Daniel Kitson in August 2013, is a masterpiece of quips and laughs, playing at full capacity to an audience in the round. It is dynamic both in terms of character and in a physical sense, that being (in the style of Kitson himself) - there's a f**k-off massive tree in the middle of a theatre.
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| oldvictheatre.com |
The production is a play for two people and the story is as follows:
Man walks underneath tree for picnic
'Why you up a tree?'
'Let's not get there straight away, why you here?'
'Let's not get there straight away'
And so the two engage in a barter of small talk that, at times became a little predictable but that, slowly but surely reveals the two men's 'real' reasons for being there.
Kitson's character is an oddball, a man that raises up cups of tea in a plastic bucket rather than leave his leafy dwelling. We gradually find out the background of this illusive bearded bard as a landlord of the house his tree stands outside of. He has instead chosen to live in the tree for 'just over nine years' and manages to survive by ordering groceries to the house below, receiving t-shirts from a guy called Robbie, 'pissin' in a bottle and shittin' in a bag'.
Of course, Key's character has no intention of believing this man first time, as a civil rights lawyer he's convinced he can work out the truth. And so, he tells of how
he came to be at this particular spot. He met a girl, she suggested a picnic, he came... only he came '50mins early... not 10mins late', because the clocks went back and he hadn't 'clocked on' (sorry).
And so the narrative continues, a back-and-forth of questions and answers, appreciation of smiles that look like it's wearer has had a stroke, and of shared adoration for megaphones and blowtorches.
But it's not all as meaningless as it sounds, at around the 75minute mark it takes an unexpected turn. Those who seemed to be two innocent men with civil liberty at heart and who decide quite quickly that everyone should be addressed as 'mate', transform within seconds before our very eyes. Key's character receives a phone call, from his wife and daughter, whom he told he was working late. And so the dream date with a girl immediately becomes a stab in the heart of everything we've been led to believe. And it doesn't stop there.
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| take1scenicservices.co.uk |
As Kitson's character works out what's going on he has a change of heart, perhaps he'll tell Key the 'truth':
'It's not true'
'What isn't'
'Me living in a tree'
'I don't believe you, why else would you be sitting in a tree'
'I'm a tree surgeon, I'm waiting'
'For what?'
'Woodchipper'
And so, the tree turns on its roots and now we have a dilemma. What is the truth of this illusive magical man in a tree? Could THIS in fact be true, that he's wearing a council t-shirt because he works for the council, not because a man called Robbie gave it to him. Or could this be his very own way of making a point about commitment.
Who knows, but it's awfully odd that he'd be waiting in a tree that late in the evening, don't you think?
A brilliantly written piece that saved the best bit 'til last and as it was being filmed, we even got a second chance to watch Key's character catch a grape his mouth! A night that really left us dwelling in the stairwells of the Old Vic to argue our case for which story was really true - and whether we could have got the grape in first time ;)
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