MARRYING THE MISTRESS.
Tour.
MARRYING THE MISTRESS
by Joanna trollope adapted by David Taylor.
Runs: 2hr 10min Ine interval.
Review: Ranjit Khutan: 10 October 2005 at Grand Theatre Wolverhampton.
Enjoyable, but could do with a bit more verve.
After many years of marriage, a distinguished judge announces that he is leaving his wife to marry his younger mistress. This decision, not surprisingly, has a dramatic effect on his family, disrupting not only his life, but the lives of his children, their respective partners, and his grandchildren to varying and unusual degrees.
The repercussions of one persons affair on the whole family is sensitively addressed by Trollope in her novel. Trollope wishes to question the popular cliché that suggests that the man who leaves his wife for another woman is automatically a bastard; a woman who is left by her husband is automatically the injured and innocent party and the mistress is a home wrecking predatory jezebel.
However, these complexities do not translate well into this adaptation. In this production development of character and plot seem rushed and at times disjointed. In an attempt to squeeze everything in, the exposition is overwritten, relationships are not clear and there is little dramatic conflict.
The set largely consists of two kitchens, this works well, but other sets are moved in and out during blackouts accompanied by a piano interlude. The number of these changes and the use of telephone conversations between characters stifle the pace of the play. The actors do well to move from one scene to the next and the humour is well received by the audience.
On the whole this is an enjoyable adaptation which could benefit from more crisp, compelling dialogue, swifter movement between scenes and more energetic performances.
Guy: Jeremy Clyde.
Merrion: Daisy Beaumont.
Simon: Adrian Lukis.
Laura: Polly Adams.
Gwen: Jacqueline Clarke.
Alan: Damien Goodwin.
Carrie: Caroline Langrishe.
Jack: Mat Ruttle.
Director: David Taylor.
Designer: Simon Higlett.
Lighting: Jack Thompson.
Sound: Clement Rawling, Paul Delaney.
2005-10-12 14:40:45