Nottingham Playhouse
17th September, 2022, matinee
“It never rains, but it pours”
Adrian Scarborough adapts and stars
in the first stage production of Alan Bennett’s 1997 novella The Clothes They Stood Up In at Nottingham
Playhouse. About a married couple who return from the opera to find their flat
completely empty, the piece reflects on how we’re prone to complicating our
lives with belongings, and explores unrealised dreams in a stifled marriage. In
Adam Penford’s production, which has the pacing of a thriller, the result is a hugely
enjoyable dark comedy in which Scarborough captures the essence of Bennett.
In adapting it from the page, Scarborough
maintains the fluidity of the novella. We start in an opera house after the
curtain falls on Così Fan Tutte
quickly followed by a scene on the bus home. These short scenes demonstrate some
witty observations which help to establish the characters of Mr and Mrs Ransome
(Scarborough and Sophie Thompson). Firmly rooted in the trappings and routines
of middle-class life, Scarborough quickly introduces us to the predicament in
which they find themselves. On entering their Notting Hill apartment, they find
it stripped bare. Furniture, clothes, pictures, teabags, even the toilet roll!
Anything that’s not been nailed down and even some things that are have
mysteriously vanished. Assuming they’ve been burgled the couple set about
rebuilding their lives whilst also trying to solve who done it, how they pulled
it off and why. One of the biggest achievements is that the play feels like it’s
always belonged on the stage and feels part of the theatrical canon. I’ll avoid
spoilers, but there’s a striking similarity with Bennett’s Enjoy (1980) in which the council wants to demolish a terraced
house and rebuild it brick-by-brick in a museum. The accumulation of belongings
over a lifetime is somewhat central to his People
(2012) as well. In this way, it also somewhat reminded me of Michael Frayn’s Here (1993) in which, faced with an
empty flat, a couple begin to construct their lives together.
Objects, then, carry meaning: they
reflect where we’ve come from and what our social status is. Robbed of these
possessions, what are we left with? For Rosemary Ransome in particular, it invites
her to start again and think of new possibilities. She befriends the man who runs
the corner shop, she discovers the internet, daytime TV and beanbags. The
burglary even has some sexual awakenings. Thompson portrays her liberation, kindness
and quiet hopes with care. Ultimately, she learns how to accept to let go and
this is what sets her free. Maurice’s relationship to objects is more complex,
in fact they seem to torment him more and more. Like with Ned in Jez Butterworth’s
Parlour Song (2008), which also deals
with disappearing belongings in a nightmarish world of middle-class inertia, Maurice
loses his sense of self along with his belongings. Scarborough hilariously
plays Maurice’s building frustrations, at one point climbing a drainpipe to try
to retrieve them.
Scarborough has chosen to modernise
the setting. References to mobile phones and Brexit occasionally jar with other
dialogue but I feel this helps to emphasise how insular their lives are. The play
is so much about the Ransome’s idiosyncrasies but, outside their flat, we’re
privy to the very different world of multicultural, 21st century Britain. References to police waiting times, petty street
crime, drug addiction and more show that Bennett firmly has his finger on the
pulse of societal issues. Ned Costello, Charlie de Melo and Natasha Magigi all deftly
bring to life a range of supporting characters to people the play.
From corner shops, buses, warehouses and (a range of!) apartments, Robert Jones’ eye for detail in his design is superb. Elevating the apartment slightly looks aesthetically pleasing but also adds to the feel that the Ransome’s lives are compartmentalised. As well as being a much welcome addition to Bennett’s work, Penford keeps the pace moving nicely so it feels like both a thriller and a comedic romp. It certainly gave the audience what they were looking for at the performance we saw.
The Clothes
They Stood Up In plays at Nottingham Playhouse until 1st October.
For more information, please visit https://nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/events/the-clothes-they-stood-up-in/
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Adrian Scarborough and Sophie Thompson in The Clothes They Stood Up In. Credit: The Other Richard |
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