SITTING PRETTY by Amy Rosenthal. Touring to 27 October
Tours
SITTING PRETTY
by Amy Rosenthal
Touring to 27 October 2001
Runs 2hr 10min One interval
Review Timothy Ramsden at Nuffield Theatre, Southampton
Poignant yet lively comedy with a maturity astonishing for a 22 year old, boasting a suite of fine performances in this Nuffield Theatre production.Without Maureen Lipman this play would not be touring. If its author hadn’t been her daughter, it might not have had Maureen Lipman. Grind your frustrated teeth, unperformed dramatists.
Not at any nepotism; the play stood up well in an earlier production at London’s Chelsea Centre. But at the exceptional skill of a young writer who can create ten coherent characters and show deep understanding of the middle-aged.
Nancy (55) starts in depression while her sister, National Gallery guide Nina (53), flits condescendingly around their shared flat. She’s in control: tourists, Nancy, Max next door who fancies her, all bow to her. Then Nancy becomes a life-class model, without realising she’s to pose nude. Unlike Nina, she listens to people and becomes everyone’s friend.
John Doyle’s production mostly improves on the premiere, though some background characters are less clearly etched. Lipman, mistress of the vocal double-take, makes Nina as sympathetic as possible, while Sidney Livingstone precisely catches Max’s contented resignation. Brian Protheroe plays a good hand as an ageing, sexually magnetic art lecturer whose painting block is unlocked by Nancy.
Aviva Jane Carlin meets the demands all this puts on Nancy; she is the heart of the evening. Gradually rediscovering herself she radiates content to everyone she meets, making her glamorous sister’s wit sound increasingly sour.
She’s the show’s twin star with Rosenthal herself, who displays a born dramatist’s qualities, wrong-footing the audience, building comedy through credible characters, drawing humorous lines naturally out of the action.
There’s a sparkling interplay of dialogue and stage images, while other, purely visual moments further the action; none more than the glorious act one finale where Nancy’s embarrassed disrobing offers an hilarious routine. Then, as Saint-Saens Swan plays during the class, she slowly overcomes inhibitions and unfolds, finding a new pride and dignity.
Nancy: Aviva Jane Carlin
Nina: Maureen Lipman
Max: Sidney Livingstone
Philip: Brian Protheroe
Zelda: Clare Wilkie
Luka: Oliver Fishman
Josie: Penny Bunton
Bridget: Janette Legge
Martin: Kim Durham
Sylvia: Eve Pearce
Director: John Doyle
Designer: Emily Couper
Lighting: Jason Taylor
Tours to the Lyceum Sheffield, Richmond Theatre, Yvonne Arnaud Guildford and Theatre Royal Bath to 27 October
2001-09-28 03:26:21