The Mill on the Floss

Nottingham/Exeter

THE MILL ON THE FLOSS: Helen Edmundson adapted from the novel by George Eliot
Nottingham Playhouse co-production with Northcott Theatre, Exeter

Tkts: 0115 9419419. www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
Runs: 3h 10m: 1 interval: till 20th September
7.45pm, matinee Sat 13th Sept. 2.30pm
Review: Jen Mitchell: 8th September 2003

Breaks all boundaries as it charges between realism and high theatricality, to startling effect.
The magnificent mill wheel that dominates the stage becomes the focus of both Maggie Tulliver's security and conflict throughout her short but tragic life.

Maggie Tulliver's frustration at the constraints of being a female in Victorian times is at the heart of the play. Her thirst for knowledge puts her at odds with the social rules of the day and from the outset she rails against her lot in life. The three different actors playing Maggie portray this ongoing conflict wonderfully. The young, vibrant rebel comes back on stage to taunt the pious young woman and to act as a constant reminder of her rebellious childhood. Maggie can never be free of her dour, religious, penitent self, as she remains a physical presence on stage.

The inner turmoil is thus played out for the audience, making Maggie, for me, a more believable character than her counterpart in the novel. The reasons for her, at times bizarre actions, become all the more apparent.

Her uncomfortably close relationship with her brother is held up to scrutiny as he moves from a callow youth to a confident, successful man. A change brought about by the downfall of his father. His ongoing cruel streak is evident throughout and his influence and hold over Maggie affects her whole life and ultimately results in their deaths.

Although a lengthy production, the time passes with ease, just as we become comfortable another challenging theatrical device is employed from the blatant use of a doll as a young Lucy, suggestion and symbolism, to a dance-like storm scene. The success of much of the theatricality lies with the inventive use of lighting. Subtle changes in mood are reflected, as are full on emotional outbursts with some in-your-face effects. Maggie's terrors lie enclosed behind the huge mill door, which, when open gives vent to the pent up emotion held tenuously in check for so much of her life. We are however, treated to some finely tuned comic moments as we see the absurdity of the situations the characters frequently find themselves in.

The sheer theatricality of the storm scene and the drowning make for a very emotional experience and the play concludes as it has begun, with the drowning of a woman who has been at the mercy of the times in which she lived.

Third Maggie/Aunt Pullet: Suzy Bloom
Bob Jakin/Phillip Wakem/Uncle Pullet: Jonathon Broadbent
First Maggie: Veronica Leer
Second Maggie/Aunt Glegg: Helen Logan
Mr Tulliver/Doctor Kenn: Michael Mackenzie
Tom Tulliver/Wakem: Hywel Morgan
Stephen Guest/ Mr Stelling/Uncle Glegg: Martin Parr
Mrs Tulliver/Lucy Deane: Gail Watson

Director: Richard Baron
Designer: Set and Props Trevor Coe
Designer: Costumes Kenneth Harrison
Lighting Designer: Mark Pritchard
Composer/Movement: Matthew Bugg
Voice Coach: Sally Hague

2003-09-11 15:20:44