THE GLASS CAGE; till 17 November.
Northampton.
THE GLASS CAGE: by J.B. Priestley.
Royal and Derngate Theatre to 17th November.
Mon. to Sat. 7.45 pm.
Pre-show platform event: 17 November.
Runs 2hrs 40 mins: one interval.
Tickets: 01604 624811.
www.royalandderngate.co.uk
Review: Ian Spiby,7 November 2007.
A fine production of an old curiosity not seen for 50 years.
Laurie Sansom’s superb production draws the best out of this somewhat creaky well-made play. Written in 1957, Priestley, sensitive to the enormous social changes happening at the time, writes about contemporary issues which still have relevance today. His dramaturgical skills, however, belong to a former age - but by introducing an expressionist framework, Sansom is able to cover the most obvious cracks whilst building the sense of brooding tension and mystery which the play requires. In this he is aided beautifully by the atmospheric set, the subtle lighting design and the outstanding sound score.
Written to showcase the talents of three Canadian actors, Priestley chooses to present as his main theme, a generation clash between an old established Toronto family with a puritan ethic and their young mixed-race relatives who have quite different values. Set in 1906, the play revolves around the arrival of three siblings who have come to claim part of an inheritance out of which they feel they have been tricked. In the resultant clash both sides are forced to examine how well their moral positions stand up to scrutiny. One side is riddled with hypocrisy whilst the other seethes with envy and the desire for revenge. In the end both are brought to realise they are imprisoned in a glass cage of their own making but at the end we are left with a sense that there is the possibility that they will break free.
Central to the play’s success (as indeed Priestley intended them to be) are the characters Jean, Douglas and Angus McBane. In this production Rebecca Grant, Dar Dash and James Floyd present us with fleshed-out characters that would have delighted Priestley himself. They convey both the angst and the indulgence in high jinks of the young whilst opposing the rigid conformity of the old in the form of their uncle and aunt, David and Mildred McBane.
Laurie Sansom has made us look at an old play with fresh eyes but whether it would stand up on its own is doubtful.
Cast: David McBane: John Arthur, Malcolm McBane: Robert Demeger, Mildred McBane: Janice McKenzie, Elspie McBane: Natalie Burt, John Harvey: Peter Bramhill, Dr Gratton: Robin Bowerman, Bridget: Sue Whyte, Jean McBane: Rebecca Grant, Douglas McBane: Dar Dash, Angus McBane: James Floyd.
Director: Laurie Sansom, Designer: Jess Curtis, Lighting Designer: Natasha Chivers, Composer and Sound Designer: Adam Cork.
2007-11-08 09:20:25