Straight contemporary plays are becoming an endangered species intheatre nowadays, so it's been a pleasure to see a couple of themrecently. First the excellent Blackbird and now The Lady Of Burma.
The latter is almost a diatribe against the current junta inBurma, as Liana Gould takes the part of Aung San Suu Kyi, thedemocratically elected leader of Burma who has never been allowedthe freedom to perform that role.
Gould not only portrays Suu Kyi, but also the various othercharacters cropping up in this version of Burma's recent history.
Compelling theatre it is too, with a script full of superb prose.Describing one of the military leaders early in the power struggleshe says: "Power is his skin and he will not slough it off without agreat convulsion". Unfortunately, one guesses this is still thesituation.
Under house arrest for over a decade now, a friend of Suu Kyi'sremarks: "Though the body is confined, the mind can wander where itwill".
The set is a sparse cell which concentrates attention on theperformer, and Liana Gould plays the part to powerful perfection.
She also played it to a deservedly packed audience.
As the military takeover started she described situation thus:"You can feel the tension snapping in the air," as you couldthroughout this performance.
Philip Horton
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