THE COLOUR OF POPPIES. To 5 March.

Tour

THE COLOUR OF POPPIES
(La Femme Coquelicot) by Noëlle Châtelet, adapted by Yann Le Gouic de Kervéno translated by John C Roberts

Runs 1 hr 10 min No interval
Review Hazel Brown 31 January 2005 at Nuffield Studio Southampton

If you know what it is to fall in love, see this play and rejoice; if you don't, see this play and weep.Never before have I seen a play that captures so lyrically the joys, humour and passion of falling in love. If you have never fallen in love, you learn something wonderful and weep at your own loss, if you are or were in love, you want to shout out in shared joy. It is beautifully written and performed with such consummate skill that I have seldom spent 70 minutes of such sheer pleasure in the theatre and I want to wear red for ever more.

In some ways, it matters not that Marthe is actually seventy-five years old; the feelings she experiences are universal and can be experienced at any age. However, her age adds poignancy to the situation. A widow, she lives alone and suffers all the aches, pains, fragility and frailty that come with age. She takes coffee in a local café and delights in observing her fellow customers, especially one she has named Monsieur des Cravates.

Faith Brook gives a finely tuned performance, gradually revealing Marthe's life her childhood, her cold arranged marriage to a man who slowly stifled her spontaneity and gaiety, her joy in her children and grandchildren and all this from one chair and a table on a small spare stage, simply lit. Her re-awakening to the joys of love and life do come at a cost, the discovery of the other side of the coin of love, jealousy and passion. All the joys, hesitations, embarrassments and hope on this journey shine out from this elegant actress' face. The vulnerable tenderness she reveals as she opens and reads her first ever love letter brings tears of happiness to the eyes.

If this play comes to your area, see it I promise you will not be disappointed.

Marthe: Faith Brook

Director: Yann Le Gouic de Kervéno
Lighting: Luc Junny
Costume: Sonia Rykiel

Tour:
2 March Roses Theatre Tewkesbury
3-5 March Theatre Royal Bath

2005-02-09 09:33:50