Chicago. 1943. Gangland. The city is still ruled by fear and terror and there is only one honest cop left. Inspired by ‘The Revenger’s Tragedy’, Vindici is part of The Capone Trilogy brought to the festival by Jethro Compton.
The audience are led through a long dark corridor and into a small and intimate room which adds to the secretive and moody atmosphere of the Capone era. The detail in the room must be commended as it gives off a film noir vibe where the audience feel like they are in the famous Lexington Hotel room in Chicago in the 1940s when instead they are in an old Victorian building in the middle of Edinburgh on a cold August night.
The only thing that is out of place in the greatly designed room is an unrealistic dummy covered in sheets which is ‘intended’ to represent a dead body.
The mood is further dampened by the script, which is built on clichés and stereotypes. It tends to swing more toward the style of a spoof than a serious play. The script is not edgy or thrilling enough to cope with the demands of the original idea, making it rather predictable. It is as if the piece is trying to imitate the famous and successful movie ‘The Untouchables’ with that all-too familiar voice-over to highlight the thoughts and feelings of the detective. This does at times add comedic elements but more often than not its unoriginal.
The performances however, keep the piece afloat. Oliver Tilney, in the lead as revenge detective Vindici, has a great presence and power in his performance and he shows a great progression of the lengths his character will go to, to seek revenge.
The performance began with such potential for an interesting and intimate style of theatre however due to the clichéd script and unoriginal themes the piece fell a little flat. It did however boast a great performance from Tilney but overall lacked thrill and excitement which should come with a title with the name Capone through it.