'A FEW GOOD MEN'

Let’s start with a serious misnomer:  This production of ‘A Few Good Men’ involves a large number of very good men! The casting for Aaron Sorkin’s 1989 play is seriously skewed to males. The cast of 18 has only one woman – Lt Cmdr Joanne Galloway and 17 guys in US navy uniform. Such a large and gender dominated character list should be a major issue for a local non professional theatre company. But not so for Corkscrew Theatre. By some happy legerdemain they managed to assemble a cast bristling with acting talent and dynamic gusto.

The play is set in pre-Iraq war Guantanamo Bay – the US naval base sitting uncomfortably on the shores of hostile Cuba. We are in the company of elite marine corps whose blood-freezing ethic is barked out as ‘Unit, Corps, God and Country’ (in that order). The high moral stance of these fearsome jack tars is somewhat tarnished by an apparent murder in their midst. One of their number has died during a violent punishment ritual sanctioned (or not) by the marine’s top brass. Two of the men, Dawson and Downey, are accused of murder by doling out a humiliating punishment called ‘A Code Red’. From the start there is no doubt that their actions resulted in the death of their perceived weakling fellow marine. But who bears the responsibility? Them, their commanders? The ethic of the military brotherhood?

Enter a legal team – for Sorkin’s fine play is essentially a courtroom drama of the old school. Their job is to try and defend Dawson and Downey – played with chilling military mindset by Luke Malone and Arden John. The two have had their humanity drilled out of them for the reputation of the marines comes above all else. Malone and John spend much of the play standing to  attention and barking out robotic replies but as the play progresses they each bring out the pathos of their situation, caught between duty and humanity.

It is not an easy task for the defence team led by the aforesaid solitary woman played with grace and dignity by Davinia Fisher. She has a double problem on her hands: proving that the two defendants really were only obeying orders (hints of Nuremburg here) and dealing with a boyish bunch of Ivy League young men who call themselves lawyers but are much happier playing softball or hanging out with the guys. The most callow of them is the just-out-of-Harvard Daniel Kaffee and there are early fireworks between the dedicated Galloway for whom this case is a first for her. Everyone has then something to prove – in all senses.

She manages to fend off the casual sexism of the young naval lawyers and the more brutish disdain from some of the higher command such as Colonel Jessep and a bible bashing military maniac, Lt Kendrick. Kaffee is played with extraordinary sensitivity and depth of emotion by Christian Burton. His character has a difficult journey to navigate – from bumptious arrogance to serious lawyer with a moral crusade. Burton is simply brilliant at creating this character and one can easily through him see a young Jimmy Stewart playing the part. The final courtroom tussle between the emboldened Kaffee and the self-righteous commander Jessep was utterly gripping and if the legroom at the ADC were more generous would have had me on the edge of my seat.

There is so much strength in depth in this fine play and production that I am in danger of running out of space in trying to do justice to it. It is a play about justice and the lack of it. Martin Maynard is also outstanding as the base commander Jessep; tough, motor mouthed but in his own world, principled and dedicated. Sorkin’s tough drama let’s you see both sides of the military conundrum – what place does humanity play when a country needs protection?

There were also very fine performances from Daniel Aspel as one of the legal team, David John as a troubled officer and I always delight in seeing Richard Sockett in anything (here he is the sardonic court martial judge). Andrew Ruddick sent shivers down the reviewer’s spine with his portrayal of the God-fearing Kendrick.

The play wonderfully costumed and with a powerful Stars and Stripes set was directed by David Sear. He is to be commended for marshalling such a large cast on the ADC’s small stage and bringing out some truly excellent performances – real strength in depth here. ‘A Few Good Men’ should not be missed – surely one of the dramatic highlights of the Cambridge theatre scene. It thoroughly deserves many more than a few good men and women to buy tickets.

 ‘A Few Good Men’ runs at the ADC until Saturday

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