The performance of Oleanna, a play by the brilliant David Mamet, went up on April 10th in the Byre Studio. Having read the play, I was excited to see how the director Matthew Knapp would portray the characters; as the play leaves much to your own interpretation, which creates a completely different reaction depending on how it comes to life. The story involves John (Oliver Lennard), a professor at an esteemed university, who is about to get tenure and is in his office with Carol (Hannah Ayesha Ritchie), a failing student. The lighting was simple and the office was realistic with books and pens – it could have been anyone’s office. The beauty of the play is that the relationship and location is so undefined and realistic that the conversation could be taking place in St. Andrews for all we know.

The director in his Notes reveals his intention to portray John and Carol as both guilty, in order to demonstrate the complexity and grey area in sexual harassment cases. Sexual harassment is an important subject to talk about – especially at universities. It happens behind closed doors, and it has and could be happening in St. Andrews, whether or not it is reported. It was great to hear the audience discussing the implications of the play when the curtain had closed, because the controversiality of the play is still applicable twenty years later.

The acting was powerful. Oliver Lennard’s portrayal of the professor was realistic and his distress was captivating. When I read the play, I imagined an older professor – probably in his forties – and definitely less attractive. However, Oliver’s youth and handsome face was just as poignant as he transformed the role in to an alluring and attractive professor who captivated the innocent student.

I couldn’t help thinking during the play that I have always hoped that I would meet a professor like Professor Dave Jennings in Animal House or John Keating in Dead Poets Society at St. Andrews – professors who invite students over and personally shape them in to the next generation of brilliant minds. However, I believe that in the real world the limits on how personal professors can be to students, like Keating or Jennings, keep this from happening very often – as the effects of sexual harassment are in constant fear.

Oleanna shows this complexity perfectly, and the stage direction especially emphasised this point. The powerplay between John and Carol was expressed well by the symbolic locations of the desk and the chair; the teacher and the student.  I however, not sitting in the front row, found it hard to see as the Byre Studio is one level and I wish that would have been taken into consideration.

The costumes were also well used to express emotions and nuances in the characters. In the first scene, John is in a white button down shirt with the top unbuttoned playfully, and Carol is in a see-through lace shirt with a hot pink shirt underneath – it is quite crass. In the second act, John is wearing the white button down, with a tie and jacket fully buttoned, and Carol is in a white long sleeve shirt – classy. The attention to detail by the production crew and director emphasised the relation and emotions of each scene perfectly. Hannah Ayesha Ritchie’s portrayal of Carol was strong. While maybe not quite as flirty as I would have hoped – she expressed raw emotion and terror that felt real. An audience member put it perfectly when she said what she had wanted to say to Carol throughout the play: ‘It’s all going to be okay. . . you bitch!’.

This division of both disliking and yet agreeing with a character was also visible in Lennard’s portrayal of John. It was Oliver Lennard’s last performance in St Andrews before graduating – he is applying to acting school in the UK. After his stunning performance that left me feeling cold and utterly divided until the last moment, I believe he will go far.

Words: Samantha Evans