The Price. On tour.

Malvern

THE PRICE
by Arthur Miller

Tour to ??
Runs 2hr 15 min One interval
Review: Jan Pick: 20 September at Malvern Festival Theatre

Victor pays the price.Arthur Miller's angst-ridden 1968 play uncovers the consequences of a brother's sacrifice to enable his family to survive and struggle through the American Depression years. Larry Lamb plays Victor, a policeman nearing retirement, who gave up his education to support his father, destroying his own prospects but enabling his younger brother, Walter, to continue his training to be a doctor.

The resentments and family concealments are spilled out in a cataclysmic meeting between the two men, who have not spoken or seen each other in years, but have to dispose of the contents of a top floor apartment crammed with furniture and objects from their past, before the building is pulled down.

Witnessing this meeting are Solomon, an aged furniture dealer played with gentle precision and wit by Warren Mitchell, and Esther, Victor's wife, not only anxious to sell for a good price, but also for the brothers to reach some sort of rapprochement, and to free themselves from their past bitterness. The Price is inhabited by people who have locked themselves into a life ruled by perceptions that are revealed to be flawed as the evening gradually explores the characters' self-deceptions and deliberate refusals to admit truths to themselves and others.

Larry Lamb's central performance has deep emotion and touching dignity, while Brian Protheroe as Walter engages a slightly uneasy sympathy as we understand his motivation but clearly recognise his petty hypocrisies. Nancy Crane gives a finely judged performance as the wife frustrated by her husband's lack of ambition and stubborn refusal to behave self-interestedly in conflict with his idea of his own integrity.

The well-named, wise old Solomon acts as a shrewd commentator on human nature and its fallibility - although the character fails to connect with the main drive of the play. Set and lighting design reflect the muddle and mess of human life as the end leaves much unresolved, and nothing much changed.

It is typical Miller territory, posing questions about human values and the cost involved in living up to an ideal. Intelligent, witty and complex, it is a must for all Miller fans.

Victor: Larry Lamb
Esther: Nancy Crane
Solomon: Warren Mitchell
Walter: Brian Protheroe

Director: Sean Holmes
Designer: Anthony Lamble
Lighting: Simon Bennison
Sound: Rich Walsh

2004-09-23 21:42:43