TRUMAN CAPOTE - social butterfly, gossipmonger, and faded novelist dropping names until those names drop him - is vividly resurrected in Bob Kingdom’s brilliant one-man show which comes to the Town Hall from next Tuesday to Thursday.
Never lapsing into biography or lecture, this piece brings the latter half of the 20th century into sharp focus through Capote’s somewhat jaded eyes. Elvis, Camus, Frost, Marilyn, Thurber, Gore Vidal; all bit parts in the world Truman Capote moved through.
The slightly seedy glamour of Breakfast At Tiffany’s and the intelligence of its author shine through the script, bringing out the tragedy threaded through Capote’s humour.
Capturing the man and his times, despite the Capote estate forbidding any direct quotation, is no easy task, but Kingdom succeeds with ease. His performance is scarily accurate; the wardrobe, mannerisms, and camp, acerbic, humour is precise. But this is so much more than impersonation, bringing a man who faded from view, from the fame he craved, as the world lost interest, back into the spotlight he deserved - or at least needed.
Galway audiences will have already seen Kingdom’s spell-binding recreation of the world and persona of Dylan Thomas, which he has toured here previously and, speaking from his London home, the actor revealed what drew him to Truman Capote.
“Whenever I start writing a show I begin by looking for someone who I look and sound like - because you need to present a credible resemblance of your subject,” he says. “Then as I’m researching I find things from my own life that can be superimposed on the narrative which makes it resonate more for me. With Truman Capote I also found myself liking his work and that attracts you in as well.”
What kind of ‘resonance’ did Kingdom discover between himself and Capote?
“I think maybe there is a similar kind of perfectionism there,” he suggests, “and a degree of compulsive-obsessive behaviour. Also, like Truman, I’m about 5’ 3’’ with a somewhat high-pitched voice and they’re things which expose you to certain kinds of attitudes or even prejudice as you’re growing up which can generate feelings of isolation.
“It’s interesting for me as well to note the similarities between Capote and Dylan Thomas; they both died of words in a way. Capote ended up writing things that he thought his celebrity associates would be impressed by but in fact they were offended by his profiles and they cut him out of their world. He made the fatal mistake of mis-reading his own place in the social stratum.”
While the recent Hollywood biopics of Capote both focused on the period during which he wrote In Cold Blood, Kingdom’s show - first staged in 1994 - presents a broader span of the writer’s life. In his later years, Capote increasingly succumbed to the ill-effects of alcohol abuse, including some infamously drunken TV appearances.
Kingdom reflects on the nature of his decline.
“I think when you find yourself being feted and flattered your life takes on a larger dimension and it’s all to easy to think that everything revolves around you, your ego starts to feed that notion,” he says.
“At the same time in that situation there are heightened feelings of exposure, expectation, of feeling judged, a fear of being found out. I think these were all demons that afflicted Truman and alcohol can seem to offer a refuge from those but of course he ended up burnt out because of the drinking.”
After a performance of his show in America, Kingdom was approached by an admiring Carl Bernstein (of All The President’s Men fame ) who observed that the show was not just about Capote but addressed the dilemma of what it is to be a writer, any writer.
“I think the show does have a much broader resonance than just being about Capote,” Kingdom notes. “Through commenting on the nature of writing it also touches on the human condition and I think it connects with people who might not even be that familiar with Capote before seeing it.”
The success of the show up to now would certainly bear that out, with recent awards at the Dublin and Edinburgh Fringe festivals capping a slew of enthusiastic reviews.
As The Evening Standard noted: “Kingdom lets you understand Capote's wit and sarcasm, his lofty cynicism and camp posing as the defences of a man concealing vulnerabilities. The camp comedy of Kingdom’s beautifully gauged and eloquent performance underlines the nature of Capote’s dilemma.’
The show starts at 8.30pm in the Town Hall Studio. For tickets contact 091 - 569777.
