Theatre review: My Brilliant Friend

The quartet of Italian books known collectively as The Neapolitan Novels are apparently A Big Deal, and one that I had absolutely no idea existed until I heard about April De Angelis' stage adaptation (which originally played at the Rose Theatre Kingston, and now transfers in expanded form to the Olivier.) All I've really gleaned is that their author, Elena Ferrante, doesn't actually exist, being a pseudonym shrouded in secrecy. It's no doubt a huge part of the novels' popularity and mythos, given that their narrator is a popular novelist called Elena, better known as Lenù (Niamh Cusack,) who flashes us back to 1950s Naples and her first meeting with Lila (Catherine McCormack,) who stole her beloved doll and threw it into the cellar of the local mob boss. Lenù did the same to hersin revenge, and their (unsuccessful) adventure into the cellar to retrieve the dolls bonded them in a tumultuous friendship.

Lila is precociously clever, having taught herself to read and write before starting school, and goes straight to the top of the class. But by her teens her parents decide she's had as much education as a woman should have, and take her out of school while Lenù advances academically.

The story spans from 1952 to 2011, during which time the women's circumstances fluctuate wildly - after a disastrous marriage at 17 to Stefano (Jonah Russell,) Lila seems like she'll be doomed to dead-end jobs but her involvement with the workers' union gives her a new lease of life that sees her eventually become a successful businesswoman. Meanwhile Lenù finds early fame and success but an ill-advised marriage to her publisher's son Pietro (Justin Avoth) quickly sees her reduced to the role of hassled wife and mother with no time for her work. In the background to the two women's story is the rise of a crime family who end up dominating Naples life, as the mob boss from the story's opening is murdered by new Godmother Manuela Solara (Emily Mytton,) the city now run by her unpredictable sons Marcello (Ira Mandela Siobhan) and Michele (Adam Burton.)

De Angelis' play is split into two parts, each covering two of the books in the series, and Melly Still's production is suitably epic; there's a large cast to fill the Olivier stage, and Soutra Gilmour's set consisting of rotating, interlocking staircases brings a sense of claustrophobia to such a large space, suggesting the way the story may span a whole city but its residents' lives are uncomfortably close. The two parts between them come in at a little over five hours but that still means a hectic pace to get that much story in (either Ferante's novels are light on story and big on detail, or De Angelis has had to massively simplify everything and ditch entire storylines - there's certainly a lot of moments that suggest a nod to a plot strand from the books that's not been taken up here.)

In terms of the broad strokes of the story they come across admirably clearly, but there's no room for detail: Lila's marriage to Stefano is clearly doomed before the wedding reception's over, but how exactly she ended up married to Trevor Fox's Enzo instead must have passed me by; and I'm pretty sure one of Toby Wharton's recurring characters killed the other one offstage. Most notably, the small child of a major character disappears and is never seen again, something that would form the central plot of most stories but is here practically a postscript in the closing minutes. Cusack and McCormack give emotionally draining performances and the epic scale is certainly achieved, but the numerous themes and stories of the novels fly past at such a whirlwind pace it's hard for much of it to have an impact.

My Brilliant Friend by April De Angelis, based on The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, is booking in repertory until the 22nd of February at the National Theatre's Olivier.

Running time: Part One 2 hours 30 minutes including interval; Part Two 2 hours 35 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner.