THE BROWNING VERSION & SWANSONG To 19 September.
Bath/Tour.
THE BROWNING VERSION and SWANSONG
by Terence Rattigan by Anton Chekhov translated by Stephen Mulrine.
The Peter Hall Company at Bath Theatre Royal In rep to 1 August.
2.30pm 15, 23, 29 July, 1 Aug.
7.30pm 18, 20, 21, 25, 28, 31 July
Audio-described 15 July 2.30pm.
TICKETS: 01225 448844.
www.theatreroyal.org.uk
then tour to 19 September 2009.
Runs 1hr 55min One interval.
Review: Rupert Bridgwater 13 July at Theatre Royal Bath.
A showcase for the talented Peter Bowles.
Two plays, two playwrights. And one evening of Peter Bowles. Swansong, Anton Chekhov’s short account of the backstage aftermath of the last performance of a 68-year-old actor sees Bowles staggering around as a geriatric drunken thespian. Discovered by the theatre’s equally decrepit prompter in the now empty theatre, he explains he’s almost drained life’s wine bottle and only the dregs are left. But what dregs they are. Between them a gently amusing and touching scene unfolds, shedding light equally on their precarious grease-paint-and-footlights existence and 19th century acting in general. It’s a collector’s piece and an all too brief a treat.
After the interval in contrast comes Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version. Set in post war England, it’s a story of stiff-upper lips, failed ambition, phoney relationships and the world of public schools. Stuffy retiring classics master Crocker-Harris is given hidden depth by Peter Bowles who manages to squeeze out sympathy for the “Himmler of the lower fifth” as his colleagues refer to him. By the last scene, Bowles lowers his voice to a near-whisper while his marriage unravels over a glass of sherry - and yet a hushed auditorium catches every word. It is a master class in understated character acting.
A beautifully-crafted piece of theatre sees cast, set, lighting and props seamlessly blended in Peter Hall’s production. Croker-Harris’s wife Millie is crisply and sympathetically portrayed by Candida Gubbins, as she carries on her affair with the Chemistry teacher (Charles Edwards) under her husband’s nose, while the head teacher (James Laurenson) unfeelingly downgrades Croker-Harris’s role on speech day and even chops his pension. All three manage to be charming and very British as they plunge their emotional daggers into Bowles’ character.
The chirpy schoolboy Taplow is played with all the nowse of a paid-up member of the fifth form wits by James Musgrave. He makes “the Croc blub” by showing an act of kindness that may or may not have been a ploy to get a good mark. Musgrave deftly conjures up the two sides of his ilk: total thoughtlessness and comedic artlessness. Perfect.
Swansong:
Svetlovidov: Peter Bowles.
Nikita Ivanych: James Laurenson.
The Browning Version:
Taplow: James Musgrave.
Frank Hunter : Charles Edwards.
Millie Crocker-Harris: Candida Gubbins.
Andrew Crocker-Harris: Peter Bowles.
Dr Frobisher: James Laurenson.
Peter Gilbert: Peter Sandys-Clarke.
Mrs Gilbert: Elizabeth Crarer.
Director: Peter Hall.
Designer: Christopher Woods.
Lighting: Peter Mumford.
Sound : Gregory Clarke.
Associate director: Tom Littler.
2009-07-15 10:33:47