MISERY. To 12 March.
Newcastle Under Lyme
MISERY
by Stephen King adapted by Simon Moore
New Vic Theatre To 12 March 2005
Mon-Sat 7.30pm Mat 12 March 2.30pm no performance 24 Feb, 3, 7 March
BSL Signed 9 March
Captioned 10 March
Talkback 9 March
Runs: 2hrs 30min. One interval
TICKETS: 01782 717962
tickets@newvictheatre.org.uk
Review: Ranjit Khutan: 18 February 2005
Misery and terror not quite at their best in the Round.Stephen King's popularnovel (also a film) loses nothing in Simon Moore's stage adaptation. Indeed, with subtle use of lighting, chilling music and clever set design complementing the piece, it can still frighten audiences who may already be familiar with the story.
Paul Sheldon is a well-known and well-liked author. At an awards ceremony he talks about how he got his ideas for the now famous Misery' novels, reminiscing on his initial creative thought: what if misery was a person?' - which allows us to question events later on in the play.
He then announces he will be writing his next book in a hotel where he wrote one of his earlier novels. It's snowing heavily on his way back from the hotel and his car skids off the road when Annie Wilkes, his number one fan, is passing by and rescues him.
But a 'Number One' fan brings her own dangers. What follows is enhanced by strong performances from both Hazel Maycock as the psychopathic stalker and Brendan Hughes as the helpless Sheldon. Bedridden and frightened, Sheldon tries not to upset Annie Wilkes because he never can tell how she will react so for the majority of the play they act out roles as if nothing odd is happening.
This leads to a tension that ebbs and flows throughout the play, though overall tension rises towards the more extreme as the play progresses.
Director Natalie Wilson gives movement to what could be a very flat play. However, more could have been done as most of the first act has Hughes in a bed, which in a production in the round means that his facial gestures are obscured from view to half the audience. Maycock's Annie has the ability to cast fear with a look, one second happy the next in a rage. Being able to see Sheldon's responses to these changes would add depth to the piece and our understanding of the level of fear he is experiencing. Then again, for all the script's good points, there are occasions when Sheldon is exploring the house that his soliloquising becomes laboured, words trying to express things that could have been better expressed through action.
Paul Sheldon: Brendan Hughes
Annie Wilkes: Hazel Maycock
Director: Natalie Wilson
Designer: Michael Holt
Lighting: David Martin
Sound: James Earl-Davis
Fight director: Renny Krupinski
2005-02-22 01:14:12