Daniel in the Bureaucratic Lions’ Den
I, DANIEL BLAKE: Theater Review
Anyone who has languished on hold waiting for customer service from government or corporate entities can relate to the premise of the Fountain Theatre’s I, Daniel Blake. But in this theatrical adaptation of the award-winning 2016 British movie directed by Ken Loach and written by his longtime collaborator, Paul Laverty, dealing with dehumanizing, byzantine bureaucracy is a matter of life and death.
The eponymous proletarian of I, Daniel Blake (depicted by stage stalwart JD Cullum) is a 59-year-old English carpenter who experiences a heart attack and then has to contend with the Tory government’s formidable maze of cumbersome bureaucracy as he seeks to receive benefits necessary for his survival. To compound matters, the carpenter is not computer literate. The bureaucrats’ cruel rules and regs seem intended to deny hard-pressed people in the post-Thatcherite society assistance, rather than to help down-on-their-luck Brits.
Makara Gamble, JD Cullum, Philicia SaundersPhoto by Cooper Bates
During his trials and tribulations, the good-natured Blake stumbles upon the beleaguered 30-something Katie (Philicia Saunders) and her teenage daughter Daisy (Makara Gamble), likewise caught up in the wheels of the mercilessly grinding government machinery that heartlessly chews “clients” up and spits them out. In this production, Daniel’s fellow onstage victims of the heartless Tory bureaucracy are being played by Black actors (of indeterminate origin – Caribbean? African?), whereas in the original movie they were Caucasians. Although down on his heels himself, Blake seeks to extend to these newcomers to his city a helping hand, and a bond of friendship is formed between the trio. Their relationship symbolizes the notion of the solidarity of the oppressed, that when the chips are down, the wretched of the Earth will stick together.
One character seeks to pursue the Thatcherite notion of entrepreneurial self-help, Blake’s neighbor, China (Brazilian actor Wesley Guimaraes). But instead of picking himself up by his own bootstraps, China tries to pick himself up by the laces of high-end sneakers (which may or may not be knock-offs) the go-getter imports directly from a Chinese soccer fan and then sells on the streets at cut-rate prices. To survive hunger and deprivation, the suffering Katie takes more desperate measures.
The drama centers around the struggle against heartless bureaucracy. Pushed up against the wall, Blake stages a desperate act of defiance in public to spur on his case to win his benefits. But will his hearing arrive in time to restore his rights (which presumably, as a taxpayer, he’d paid into the system for over decades)?
Helmed by the redoubtable Simon Levy, the Fountain’s Producing Director, this one-act live version is a faithful stage adaptation of Loach’s moving movie. As a cast member pointed out to me, the drama smoothly unspools cinematically, with about 30 scene changes in about 90 minutes or so. Opening up the action onstage are a series of images and texts, projected onto the walls by projection designer Nicholas Santiago. The use of projected words reminded me of Jean-Luc Godard movies, but some of the quotations are too right on the nose, going from the dramatic to the didactic. But this is my sole problem with an otherwise stellar show and a mere quibble. Levy deftly directs his ensemble, which includes Janet Greaves and Adam Segaller, who have multiple roles. The British accents of the mostly Yankee Doodle Dandy cast always sounded realistic to my American ears. (See my review of another Levy-directed play at the Fountain).
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JD Cullum, Adam Segaller, Philicia SaundersPhoto by Cooper Bates
If she so chooses, Makara Gamble, who told me she’d just turned 15, has a bright future ahead of her behind the footlights. As her much-put-upon mom, Philicia Saunders – who has appeared in the Star Wars franchise and with Lizzo and Solange – turns in a convincing performance as a conflicted character whose moods are ramped up by the rage and helplessness inflicted upon her stressed out self by the unjust bureaucracy. Guimaraes is affable as someone trying to find his way in a society emphasizing free market principles as the path to success.
As the title character, JD Cullum delivers a finely etched performance as an aging blue collar worker, who always made his living using his hands, but due to health reasons, no longer can and as his health falters, is forced to fight the government that should be providing a safety net, instead of trying to pull the rug out from under him. The fundamental decency of Daniel always emanates from Cullum, and when awards season rolls around, he richly deserves to be remembered for his portrayal of an impoverished proletarian and showered with accolades.
The 2016 British movie I, Daniel Blake was leftist director Ken Loach’s biggest box office hit ever, and Blake won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, as well as awards from BAFTA and the Locarno International Film Festival. The screenplay by Paul Laverty was adapted for the stage by stand-up comic Dave Johns, who had played the title role in the 2016 movie.
Carrie Menkel-Meadow and Dr. Robert G. Meadow, the same executive producers of the fact-based Jan. 6 drama Fatherland (which just opened Off-Broadway) at the Fountain Theatre last February, have now brought the theatrical version of the UK-set I, Daniel Blake to the Fountain for its US premiere. In my opinion, this is a very worthy stage adaptation of the heartfelt Loach/Laverty movie.
Whereas Kafka’s bureaucratic nightmares were absurdist in nature, in this story by Laverty and Loach, the vicious bureaucracy is clearly rooted in the UK’s reactionary conservative regime; the current Fountain production takes potshots at former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Hollywood movies may be full of superheroes battling bad guys to save the world, but I, Daniel Blake is rooted in the everyday struggles of workers and unemployed people fighting the capitalist system, and these working class heroes are no less heroic than Spider-man or Superman. As such, Blake is in the tradition of the British “Kitechen Sink Drama.”
How fitting that the US premiere of this excellent political drama opened at one of L.A.’s best and most socially-conscious intimate theaters. If you’ve ever had to wait on a long line or filled out endless forms, you’re likely to empathize with Blake’s anti-bureaucracy, humanistic themes. Surely, the hottest seats in hell are reserved for bureaucrats.
And you can get tickets to see I, Daniel Blake on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. through Nov. 24 at the Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles CA 90029. For tickets/info: (323)663-1525 or Fountain Theatre.
ALOHA OE (Farewell to Thee), Mitzi Gaynor, who starred in the first movie I ever saw. After watching South Pacific I resolved to move there and have a South Seas sweetheart, and that’s exactly what I did.
The opinions expressed here are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions or beliefs of the Hollywood Progressive.
