Review: Billy Crudup is way more than a con man in compelling ‘Harry Clarke’
In “Harry Clarke,” the protagonist who gives the play its title claims to have worked for the singer Sade. While that’s a big fat fib, he is certainly the smoothest operator you will ever have the pleasure to meet.
Played to dapper perfection by Billy Crudup, whose theatrical instincts remain as captivating as his boyish good looks, Clarke is a charmer and a rogue indulging in a full-throttle confessional about sex, lies, and shape-shifting. Who among us hasn’t fantasized about becoming someone new?
For a woebegone Midwestern man toiling as a barista in New York City, it begins with a deep desire to shed his old identity and be reborn as his childhood alter ego Harry, a devil-may-care bloke from London.
Crudup, an Emmy- and Tony- winner known for an eclectic body of work including “Jesus’ Son,” “Almost Famous,” and “The Morning Show,” relishes the art of the solo, filling the empty space with sheer theatrical bravado. The cavalcade of accents, from Midwestern to Cockney, is a delight as the actor inhabits the universe of the New York yacht set with its hungry hangers-on.
Last seen at Berkeley Rep in Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land” 10 years ago opposite Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, the actor surfs David Cale’s live-wire thriller like a big wave that’s destined to sweep everyone out to sea.
Harry is a gifted grifter but his cons are born of his deep vulnerability, a very authentic impulse to carpe more diem. His real name is Philip, he grew up in the Midwest with an abusive alcoholic of a father who made him feel very small. Pretending to be Harry, a jaunty Londoner with guts and glamor, he finally gets to feel big — more like the man he should have been.
Tautly directed by Leigh Silverman (“Well,” “The Wake,”), “Harry” takes the audience on an existential roller-coaster ride as Crudup shimmies through 19 characters with only a deck chair and a side table for company (set by Alexander Dodge). All the special effects here are strictly of the psychological variety as the astute actor takes us on a gobsmacking 80-minute tour through one man’s escapist odyssey.
Harry is a con man, certainly, but he’s also relatable to anyone who has ever wanted to chuck it all and start afresh. The secret of his persuasive powers is that he knows how to unleash his darkest desires, to shed all inhibitions, and that intoxicating sense of freedom appeals to absolutely everyone he meets. Men and women, young and old, they all yearn to be more like our Harry, who, of course, doesn’t really exist.
Contact Karen D’Souza at karenpdsouza@yahoo.com.
‘HARRY CLARKE’
By David Cale, presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Through: Dec. 23
Where: Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley
Running time: 80 minutes; no intermission
Tickets: $22.50-$134; 510-647-2949, www.berkeleyrep.org