Showing @ King’s Theatre Edinburgh, 8-12 Feb
Brava, I believe, is the correct word of praise to yell after a diva-like display. In which case Stephanie Beacham deserves several bravas, a hurray and at least a couple of metaphorical bouquets of roses thrown onto the stage for her magnificent performance as Maria Callas in Terence McNally’s Master Class at the King’s.
This was a tour de force by Beacham, never off the stage she was perfect as Callas, imperious, catty, jealous, witty and egotistical as she attempted to teach her students not to simply sing the parts but to live them as she had.
McNally’s dialogue crackled with style and Beacham’s timing was perfect, hitting all the right notes and turning what could have been yet another melodramatic piece of pandering to the cult of La Divina into a revelatory work on a tragic but exceptional artist.
Callas was only truly alive when performing and this what she demanded of her students but what was quickly understood was that their art didn’t need to consume their entire beings as it had hers. They simply didn’t carry the same emptiness inside.
The scenes which closed each act, with Beacham locked into the spotlight recalling her triumphs and conjuring up the monstrous memory of her great love and personal gorgon Aristole Onassis were heart-rending and added a genuinely tragic counterpoint to the self assurance and control she showed in the classroom and she perfectly captured Callas’s childlike dependency and never ending openness to abuse.
There were other actors on stage during this show and all of them good but this was essentially Beacham’s night and she was mesmerising throughout. So once again I say brava and indeed bravissimo.