LAVENDER BLUE by Grace Barnes Royal Lyceum to 2 February
Edinburgh
LAVENDER BLUE
by Grace Barnes
Royal Lyceum Theatre To 2 February 2002
Runs 2hr 15min One interval
TICKETS 0131 248 4848
Review Thelma Good 15 January
A production that delivers more than its script has to offer.The smell of lavender is strong as we enter the auditorium. On
the stage fields of the pungent herb surround a Scottish Border mansion
and its six tall-windowed room where the MacKinnon family gather. Slowly
the cast advance, moving through the lavender field at the back; an advance
intensified in effect by the stage's increased rake. This is a play with
striking images, as throughout the young MacKinnon twins (played by two alternating sets of identical twins) are a presence, not quite unseen, outside and inside the house. These young innocents' natural fun and laughter are a poignant echo of the past.
One of the twins, Lily, returns to their family home 13 years after her sister disappeared at 17. Not to a warm welcome; more a cautious tolerance from her mother May, elder siblings Ewan and Shona, and Shona's husband Neil. Their child Claire and Ewan's fiancee Jess have never met either twin but even they treat Lily with care. And twin Kate? Where is she?
The play seeks to explore the strange ways people cope with disappearance but turns through a series of clunky plot devices into a confusion of who, what and why that is never resolved. Barnes' characters suggest answers but none ultimately explains where Kate went. The characters' dialogue lacks enough depth to catch our sympathy. The fine actors do what they can, which is a lot in this strong cast, but they can't provide emotional range when the lines don't have them. The play as structured and written
fails to give the dramatic intensity the production seeks to delivers.
Lily: Pauline Turner
Neil: Jimmy Chisholm
Shona: Andrea Gibb
Ewan: Ian Grieve
May: Eileen McCallum
Jess: Angel Coulby
Claire: Sarah Vickers
Twins: Sinead and Amy Leach/Bevan and Eilidh Gosling
Director - Muriel Romanes
Designer - Bunny Christie
Lighting Designer - Chris Davey
Musician - Alice Mullay
2002-01-22 09:38:29