There were many reasons why I enjoyed this and can only recommend you to go along if you can. 1. If like me your favourite episode of the West Wing is when Zoe Barlett gets kidnapped you will adore Elisabeth Moss in this play. Her portrayal of Martha in this is heartbreakingly elegant.
2. And if like me you've never been a big fan of Kiera Knightley then this may just win you over. I still can't bring myself to say I've enjoyed her performance on film in anything since Bend it like Beckham but in this she's more than believable.
3. The 'girls' are all perfectly cast but none more so than Mary. The Telegraph today (6th Feb) is right to say that although Moss and Knightley take the audience on an admirable journey it is 'Mary' who steels the show. Her performance is torturous - I sat hating her, feeling frustration boiling up as her stubborn Aunt (played perfectly by Ellen Burstyn) failed to see through her; compassion for those left in her wake and shocked by her volatility. It's such an exhausting performance to watch that by the end you are relieved, if not a little disapointed, that she doesn't appear much towards the end - instead everyone else is left picking up the pieces left by her whirlwind moods, and Bryony Hannah's furocious performance.
4. The story is as poignant and resonates as strongly now as it would have been in 1930s New England as the devastating effect of rumour, fear and ignorance cast a shadow over people's lives that shamefully still too often exist for many today.
Tickets and more can be found here: http://www.childrenshourtheplay.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment