Review: One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nes, Old Vic ****

Clint Dyer’s new production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the Old Vic is an excellent reimagining that successfully brings Ken Kesey’s classic novel to the London stage. While many of us may feel we already know this story through the iconic Jack Nicholson film, this Old Vic revival offers a fresh opportunity to see a high-quality version of the play with a top-flight cast including Aaron Pierre and Giles Terera. Centring the narrative on the power dynamics of a 1960s psychiatric ward, Dyer creates a theatrical experience that is as thought-provoking as it is emotionally resonant.

Dyer has made the choice to cast Black patients against a largely white senior staff, which keenly highlights the power divide between them. The pacing drops slightly in Act 1 but picks up beautifully in Act 2 as the protagonist, played by Aaron Pierre, begins to truly understand the power dynamic he is up against as a sectioned patient.

The production is extremely stirring where it touches on the impact of indigenous land loss. Modern research shows clearly that disconnection from ancestral land causes lasting trauma and harm down the generations, often leading to struggles with alcoholism and mental health. It was refreshing to see this brought to the forefront, as Dyer acknowledges in the programme righting the fact that this element was more central to the book than the film. This is explored through the character of Chief Bromden and his feigned deafness and selective mutism, a condition we now know to be associated with anxiety. Selective mutism is seen to be on the rise in UK schools, potentially affecting 1 in 140 children so it is interesting to see it highlighted here 65 years ago.

The full cast inhabit their roles superbly but Aaron Pierre, in the role of McMurphy, must be congratulated for his performance as he begins as a character full of confidence and verve, only to palpably lose that autonomy as the weight of the institution bears down on him.

The costumes are necessarily standard-issue patient and ward clothes which site the play in its clinical environment, but subtle flourishes offer the audience insight into the characters. For instance, Giles Terera’s character sports a handsome smoking jacket as a dressing gown; this sartorial choice immediately gifts him a more professorial, educated aura that distinguishes him from his peers.

Similarly, the delay in transitioning McMurphy into his drab patient uniform is a clever tactical move. By allowing him to retain his civilian attire for as long as possible, the production gives the audience time to connect with his individual identity before the institution attempts to strip them away.

The staging is very clever, using an in the round configuration to make the audience feel immersed. Because of the large cast and the circular set, you can never see everything at once, which perfectly reflects the confusion of unreliable witnesses in a busy ward. The set features staircases to both sides that allow for dramatic entrances and create a zone for the staff to look out at the patients. The main props are white industrial heats that add an institutional feel but also work well for the cast to sit, move and stand on them in different configurations.

There were, however, a few minor frustrations. The play opens and ends with a setting in Congo Square, a Native American and African American gathering place in New Orleans. While this was a deliberate choice, much of the information was provided on slides set to the sides. Sitting in a central seat, I found it impossible to read them, which is a shame as that context was lost until I read the programme on the train home.

Additionally, while the lighting was striking, the same siren like effects were used for both emergency alarms and scene changes, which was initially confusing.

It also worth remembering that this is a historic text. Both the nurses and the sex workers felt a little one dimensional. As well as their cruel decisions, I would have loved the production to lean more into the fear they may well have had in an institution where they were outnumbered by male patients larger than them – but this, of course, is not in the source material.

The finale involves the stage being torn up to reveal soil, a striking visual that ties back to the central themes of indigenous land loss and the displacement of the Native American voice. While this specific stagecraft technique is becoming somewhat overused in London theatres this season, it remains a pertinent and fitting conclusion to this specific story. Despite a few minor technical jars, this remains a truly powerful production.