Adaptors: Kirill Levman and Aya Gilli Eliyahu after the film
Director: Kirill Levman
Based on the 2007 film of the same name starring Steve Buscemi, Interview feels old-fashioned, a kind of 1990s battle of the sexes when men could call women “whores” to their faces and not get kicked in the balls for it. But despite its misogyny and stilted dialogue, there’s still something intriguing between the cat-and-mouse game played by a male journalist and a female actor.
While Katya is a famous B movie star, she is known more for her Double Ds than her acting prowess. She has a new film, City Girl, coming out and there are rumours that she’s going to be the lead in the forthcoming Basic Instinct 3, the kind of silly erotic thriller that Interview, originally a Dutch film written and directed by Theo van Gogh, seems most influenced by. Katya admits that she’s not the best actor; her skills lie in sexiness. Perhaps her ‘treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen’ approach is why she arrives over 60 minutes late for an arranged interview with a journalist from Newsweek.
Pierre Peders feels like he slumming it with this gig. He should be in Washington covering a political scandal involving the President, but his editor has insisted that he interview Katya instead. He knows little about her, only seen one of her films. His questions are direct and soon he asks about her promiscuous reputation. The interview is a disaster and quickly aborted. Pierre hurries off to catch a plane to D.C.
But after falling over, Pierre is invited back to Katya’s apartment which he says is as big as an airport. Soon, despite the bump on his head, they are flirting and taking it in turns to seduce each other. Every so often their dance is interrupted by phone calls, his from his editor, hers from someone called Maggie and her boyfriend. She plays him like a piano and he’s unable to resist.
The set-up is improbable and there’s not enough chemistry between the leads, but there are enough twists and turns to keep watching. One of the twists could be better signposted, however, as it takes a while to realise that Katya is narrating her journal, which Pierre is secretly reading on her laptop, rather than speaking directly to him; a confession and a change in pace that is otherwise confusing.
It also says in the press invite that Interview will be immersive, but it’s not at all. Having one of the actors sit in the audience for a few seconds doesn’t make a show immersive. Indeed, this play feels fairly traditional, something a follower of David Mamet could have written.
In his waistcoat and glasses, Ofer Regirer is a believable political journalist but his weakness when it comes to Katya is not so convincing. Marie Reinherr plays Katya as a more jaded has-been than an up-and-coming starlet, hiding her vulnerability with a street-wise sex-weaponising attitude. Thankfully, Katya is always one step ahead, aware that Pierre is just after copy.
Reviewed on 10 August 2024
Camden Fringe runs until 25 August 2024
