One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Altrincham Garrick

WHEN the criminal Randle Patrick Mc Murphy is admitted to a cheerless psychiatric hospital, he doesn’t simply rock the boat.

He capsizes it.

This American classic, from the pen of Ken Kesey, has lost none of its power to shock, move or captivate in a stage adaptation that certainly succeeds in capturing the spirit of the original, rather wonderful novel.

Mc Murphy, in a bid to avoid a jail sentence, pleads insanity and ends up in a grim institution presided over by one of contemporary literature’s most horrendous baddies, the notorious Nurse Ratched.

She hides behind a veneer of care and compassion. In reality of course, she has no concept of either is particularly cruel to the stammering Billy, knowing exactly which buttons to press when it comes to making him feel guilty when this sad and sympathetic character has a glimpse of normality courtesy of the rebellious new arrival Mc Murphy.

In him she finds a formidable adversary, as he reminds his fellow patients what it feels like to live again, organising a number of events that fly in the face of the hospital’s draconian rules. For those of you who are new to this tale I won’t be a party pooper. Let me just say Mc Murphy’s antics lead to a number of unforgettable scenes on the Garrick stage.

Director Joe Meighan must have thought all his birthdays had come at once when Joseph Morgan auditioned for the role of Randle P Mc Murphy. Morgan brings a freshness and an individuality to the part immortalised on the big screen by the legendary Jack Nicholson.

Matthew Spilsbury is simply outstanding as the towering Chief Bromden, offering us a heart breaking reminder of the appalling treatment meted out to the native Americans in ‘the land of the free.’

Returning to Ratched, I really admire Madeleine Healey for the way she resisted the temptation to take the pantomime villainess route when playing the role and I challenge anyone not to be moved by the scene with Billy - an excellent Charlie Gallagher - in which she crushes him by re-visiting the character’s innate sense of guilt.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is yet another triumph for this theatre’s dynamic and exciting young actors group, the Garrick Ensemble.

This a production not to be missed. Boy, how I wish I could write like Ken Kesey.

Flawless - in every respect.

Tickets are available from 0161 928 1677 or www.altrinchamgarrick.co.uk. Star rating - *****

Photo - Martin Ogden