Thespians go to war over 'Hitler' show
Saturday November 07 2009
THE writer and actor of a provocative one-man show about Hitler got more than he bargained for at his opening night in Dublin.
Director Peter Sheridan shouted "tolerance, tolerance, that's what we want" before marching out of the performance just before it ended.
And the row spilled on to the airwaves yesterday as the two thespians debated on Joe Duffy's Liveline.
For his award-winning work at the Tivoli Theatre, Pip Utton appears looking uncomfortably like the Fuhrer and offers the audience an acute anatomy of fascism.
But he then takes off the costume and, acting as though the performance is over, he makes a series of racist jokes and fascist comments before ultimately challenging the audience to question their own prejudices.
Mr Sheridan and another caller to the radio show argued that Mr Utton failed to make it clear that the second part of his performance was an act.
Describing the act as "reprehensible", Mr Sheridan said Mr Utton failed to put the message in context.
"I felt I had to say something," he said, adding that Mr Utton's persona appeared to invite comment from the audience.
But Mr Utton said he was "disappointed" by the director's response, particularly as he had failed to wait until the sting was revealed at the show's end.
He said that while he had been heckled in the past and even been punched by one incensed woman, the reaction in Dublin had been particularly negative.
'Adolf' runs at the Tivoli Theatre until November 14.
- Grainne Cunningham
Irish Independent
