"Everyone working well except the carpenter. I
shall never forget him in this time of strain and stress…" Sir Ernest
Shackleton’s diary, 1915
The story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic attempt to cross
the Antarctic is enshrined in our culture helped by the amazing film recorded
by Frank Hurley, later released as South in 1919. The crew faced almost
impossible odds when their ship became lodged in ice and Shackleton’s leadership
in rescuing all of his crew after an epic land crossing and harrowing open-boat
journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia is the stuff of legend.
Great British pluck and the best of us overcoming the
odds it may have been but without the alterations made to the lifeboats by Shackleton’s
carpenter, Harry McNish, they would not have succeeded. Of the 24 Polar Medals
awarded to the crew of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, none was given
to poor Harry and as the officers and scientists enjoyed a heroes’ cruise home,
the chippy along with other rank and file had to pay his own way. Hands and
therefore his livelihood ruined by his exertions in the great white silence,
McNish ended up in Wellington, New Zealand, down and out and living in the harbour,
sleeping under tarpaulin.
Gail Louw’s bitter-sweet play has our hero trying to make
sense of it all near the end of his life as he drinks himself into a reverie
imagining visits from his old crew mates, The Boss himself and friends and
enemies.
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| Malcolm Rennie. All photograhs from Anna Urik |
Malcolm Rennie is exceptional and gives his all as the embittered
yet stubbornly passionate harry and pulls the audience deep into this ice-cold
world of polar traumatic stress. It’s a very physical performance and Rennie
leaves absolutely nothing on the stage as he forces Harry to confront his
demons in the face of his own fears. Sometimes it feels like he is tearing the
words out of his mouth as his spits disdain at The Boss or his enemies like Captain Lees and Worsley.
McNish respected Shackleton but also disagreed with him
on too many occasions. He was right about the boats but maybe held too much of
a grudge when The Boss shot his famous cat Mrs Chippy, who would have had no
chance of survival after the Endurance was crushed by ice. Shackleton, as the
note above suggests, found him difficult but did concede he had "grit and
spirit".
You’re left marvelling at these men’s accomplishment and
wondering why the Empire didn’t take such good of the men after the heroic
deeds inspired a nation at war and much in need of heroes. Perhaps also the
character that stubbornly refuses to curl up and die also meant that these men
were to fight – without each other they were surely doomed and any petty concerns
should have been cast aside… but the line of command had been crossed and that
was that.
Colonel Macklin, the physician on Shackleton’s expedition
later said “...of all the men in the party no-one more deserved recognition
than the old carpenter.... I would regard the withholding of the Polar Medal
from McNeish as a grave injustice.”
But Harry was with us tonight in the force of Malcolm
Rennie’s performance and I would urge everyone to go and watch this master
craftsman at work! Tony Milner's direction is intrepid too, pushing his performer to the limits and taking many chances with so many "invisible" characters who, in Rennie's hands spring so substantially to life.
Shackleton’s Carpenter plays at the Jermyn Street
Theatre until 16th August and goes on a tour of the UK and Ireland
tour in the Autumn – details on their website.
I also wrote about Frank Hurley's film, South (1919) which features such incredible footage of the expedition.
I also wrote about Frank Hurley's film, South (1919) which features such incredible footage of the expedition.
IThankYou Theatre rating: ***** A blistering one-man
show that drags us through the grit and grind of polar enmities that haunt this
brave man till the very end: you will leave the theatre reeling.
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| Frank Hurley's shot of the other 27 members of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition |