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Rain Man needs more fire

OK, so it was opening night, making nerves as natural as overpriced drinks at the theatre bar. The crowd could not have been more supportive, though. Laughter and applause interrupted Dan Gordon’s stage version of Barry Morrow & Ronald Bass’ 1988 Oscar winner Rain Main in places it perhaps really shouldn’t have, as the (overwhelmingly female) audience rushed to make Hartnett feel appreciated in his theatre debut . Unfortunately, he rarely seemed able to translate this encouragement into a confident portrayal of wheeling dealing self-centred yuppie, Charlie Babbit. Despite always looking as though he was trying hard, somehow things just didn’t come together for the film actor; a lack of chemistry between him and Mary Stockley, playing the character of his on/off girlfriend Susan, (who looked both at ease on stage and in her role), didn’t help. Probably neither did a few line problems early in the first half, one of which resulted, bizarrely, in Hartnett name dropping ‘Brad Pitt’ mid rant. The Apollo is hardly cavernous, but while subtle shifts in tone and volume work fine on film, more projection is needed for a packed house, and to impact on the nose bleed section of the balcony. None of this is to suggest that Harnett has over-reached, however. His performance strengthened steadily throughout the second Act, and the scenes set in Las Vegas, where the emotional barrier between the Babbit brothers becomes thinnest, were touchingly acted by both Harnett and Adam Godley, who plays tooth-pick counting autistic savant Raymond Babbit. Godley’s perfomance was credible throughout, even if his movements bent too much towards that of a shuffling geriatric. The play’s laughter lines, most of them from Godley, consistently hit their deadpan mark, and an energetic supporting cast of doctors, hookers, waitresses and policemen hint at societal pressures beyond the immediate relationship between Charlie and Raymond. Arguably it is the strength and on stage experience of the rest of the cast which puts Hartnett’s lack of it into sharp relief. If anything he seemed just too much of a nice bloke right from the start. No doubt as the play’s run progresses and Harnett’s confidence grows - and he starts to suffer the wrath of a rain soaked British winter - that will all change.

Rain Man is at The Apollo until 20 Dec 2008. http://www.apollo-theatre.co.uk/