Duke of York’s Theatre
6th July, 2013 matinee
Peter Nichols’ work has recently had a resurgence with a
major London revival of A Day in the
Death of Joe Egg and a West End revival of Privates on Parade at the start of 2013. David Leveaux’s production
of Passion Play, considered to be a
part of an unofficial trilogy of adultery plays along with Pinter’s Betrayal and Stoppard’s The Real Thing, is superbly powerful and
hotly intense.
Modern art restorer James (Owen Teale) and choral singer
Eleanor (Zoe Wanamaker) are a happily-married, middle-aged couple until James
starts sleeping with the much younger Kate, who has a reputation of stealing
older men from their marriages. The plot seems relatively straight forward but
Nichols fully explores the benefits, traumas and effects of infidelity. The comfort
of the couple’s somewhat stylish life is reflected in Hildegard Betchler’s
sophisticated, blank canvas design. In fact, it is even posed that their life
could be dull and that an affair brings excitement. The frivolity of sex seems
integral, as it is not that James finds Kate more attractive or better in bed
than Eleanor but that it is just the fact that she is new that entices him,
thus signalling the potential boredom of monogamy.
James’ and Eleanor’s inner thoughts are presented on stage in
the form of Jim (the very funny Oliver Cotton) and Nell (the brilliant Samantha
Bond). It is interesting how Wanamaker and Bond have the same wigs whereas
Cotton’s and Teale’s physical differences perhaps are a nod to the idea that
James sees himself as taller and with more hair than in reality. Some may see
the device of alter egos as gimmicky but it adds humour and depth through
exploring inner and outer selves to the extent that they disagree with
themselves in terms of what they say and think. In fact, the device is at its
most devastating when we see how different the public and private self can be. When
Eleanor finds out about James’ affair via a letter given to her by the bitter
Agnes (Sian Thomas), who was cheated on by her late husband by the same femme
fatale, Nell is distraught and bemuses ‘my world’s caved in and I’m sitting
here’ while Eleanor stays sat in
silence, eyes glazed with tears, trying to uphold some sense of pride. Her later
anger is seen in some arguably misandric lines when Nell exclaims over the ‘camaraderie
of cock. How they all stand together – literally, while women can’t trust each
other’. Coming from a male writer, these lines could seem shocking but overall
have the effect of fully showing the emotions experienced when being betrayed.
Some provocative language could be seen as getting cheap laughs but words such
as ‘slag, fuck, bang’ followed by ‘love’ emphasises how love can be seen as a
dirty and overused word.
Leveaux’s fast-paced production has scenes punctuated with
bursts of loud classical music. The high culture of the couple’s life is undoubtedly
a metaphor for something bigger, but what is more interesting is the subtlety
of the importance of style and culture in the play. James’ occupation is signalled
by him wearing a paintbrush in his trouser pocket but I can’t
help but wonder if the joke ‘is that a paintbrush in your pocket or are you
just pleased to see me?’ was ever said in rehearsal. The music reminds the
audience of Eleanor’s job singing in choirs, which at one point is heard on the
radio so that James and Kate can check how much time they have left together in
bed. James’ job as an art restorer sees him having to paint over mistakes or
stains as he does when lying to his wife, but the symbolism is so much more
enjoyable by it not being totally obvious.
Eleanor discovers the affair in act one which allows Nichols
to carry on digging with its effects in act two. It is also excellent of him to
steer away from any gender stereotypes when it’s revealed that Eleanor has not
been completely faithful in the past and that if James did have an affair she
would have wanted it to be kept ‘dark’. The last moments of act one see Eleanor and James kissing and about to make love as Nell viciously screams ‘I
love him’, thus backing up Eleanor’s action as an act that says ‘he’s mine’.
The second act starts with Eleanor accepting that Kate’s just
a bit on the side and even taking part in a lesbian kiss after it is
revealed that Kate likes Eleanor as well. At this point, Wanamaker’s cross-eyed
reaction is hilarious while Nell bluntly wonders her darker, truer thoughts
with ‘What, she’s a lesbian now?’ The laidback attitude perhaps seems a
surprising plot choice, thus seeming confusing and problematic and therefore
pre-empting the suspiciousness and unhappiness to which infidelity ultimately
leads.
The subsequent nightmare scene which sees Eleanor seeing
flashing cameras and Jim kissing several other women encompasses all of her
worries in a simple, satisfyingly theatrical way, with Wanamaker coming so far
downstage when snapping out of this dream that it makes the front row
concerned. At the performance I attended, a champagne glass fell to the floor
and smashed in this sequence, which I thought was appropriately part of it
until a pause much later in the act when it was swept up by James made me
wonder otherwise. After the nightmare, we see Eleanor and Jim talking to each
other more, perhaps to signify how it is James’ true feelings speaking.
Unfairly, he blames her ‘paranoia’ on the menopause and recommends she sees a
doctor even though she is right to be suspicious. Eleanor, who ponders the ease
of what it would be like to be the mistress, doesn’t want to be the other woman
and her breakdown and suicide attempt (as portrayed by Nell) suggest the
physical effects of heartbreak and emotional distress.
Eleanor officially realises that Kate is still seeing James
when Kate lets slip too much information about going away with James. While
Eleanor stays reminiscing on her honeymoon in Zurich hiding her true anger and upset,
her inner self Nell stands there shaking and crying and smoking a cigarette,
which makes for a powerful image. And for all of the arguing that Nell and Jim do, it is the stillness and distance that Eleanor and James demonstrate
on the same couch that really conveys how it is those silences that are just as
much part of a breakup as the rows. It is without a doubt that Passion Play could potentially be an
uncomfortable play to watch.
Further truths are yet to be told when Eleanor says how men
see women as ‘without periods, pregnancy. Pornography. Violets without bruises’.
It is a striking, hallmark line on the objectification of women but is perhaps
not as powerful as James’ line when looking down at an unconscious Nell to say quite truthfully ‘you
may not never hear this, but at that moment I hated you for the first and last
time’. Teale’s brilliant timbre with a hint of Welsh makes this line extremely
memorable, along with ‘I didn’t want anyone to die for me’ which exemplifies
both a self-hatred and self-centredness and shows the damage caused by
infidelity.
In the end, Eleanor and James stay together but Nell leaves
and it is strongly suggested that Jim still sees Kate thus implying that
Eleanor and James have become just shadows absent of any inner truth or commitment
to each other – a sad truth that is perhaps resonant with many audience
members’ marriages. The last tableau sees a worried Eleanor (who physically
hasn’t been the same since the overdose) sit helplessly while Kate is literally
‘fur coat, no knickers’ before dropping it with her back to the audience to let
Jim kneel into a near-rapturous pose at the side of her. It prompts the
audience to think back to the religious painting that James earlier restores,
thus leaving us with a strong image that is theatrical and thought-provoking
but without being too apparent or conclusive.
Zoe Wanamaker, one of my favourite actors, is utterly
watchable, as is Samantha Bond, Owen Teale and Oliver Cotton. The attractive
and brilliant Annabel Scholey plays the teasing younger woman perfectly without
overdoing anything and ensuring she’s not just playing a type.
Lastly, it is perhaps amazing how a West End play can be
produced with 5-6 principal cast members, four of whom are women and five of
them are middle-aged. Considering there has been much recent press about a lack
of roles for female actors of a certain age Passion
Play should be seen as an achievement.
As an end thought, I am normally dissatisfied with the cost
and thinness of ATG theatre programmes, however this one does contain an
insightful Mark Lawson article and a frank Peter Nichols interview. I bought a
£10 second row day seat for Passion Play
in a house which sadly wasn’t sold out.
To conclude, this is an excellent cast in a brilliant
production of a thoughtful and funny play. One of the signs of a great
production is how certain nuances can makes you keep on delving into the play
every time you think of it.
Passion Play plays at the Duke of York’s Theatre
until 3rd August, 2013.
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