ETERNAL LOVE (IN EXTREMIS) - The Story of Abelard & Heloise

Malvern Festival Theatre

ENGLISH TOURING THEATRE

David Sturzaker & Jo Herbert

English Touring Theatre (ETT) has done it again! It’s superb production of Eternal Love is at Malvern Theatres this week as it tours the UK following a successful run at The Globe. There are two production companies that consistently draw the crowds to Malvern, Theatre Royal Bath and ETT, and justly so, due to the reassuringly high quality guaranteeing a thoroughly enjoyable night out.

Eternal Love – The Story of Abelard and Heloise proves that incredible writing is the foundation of any great play. Howard Brenton’s brilliance shines through in his witty, moving and accessible dialogue as he explores the potentially overwhelming subject of theology and philosophy by keeping the focus on love, in its infinite forms. Many of those that worked on his last ETT project, Anne Boleyn, have understandably returned for this wonderful staging of theatrical excellence.

John Dove, does an superb job, engaging the audience in a truly ensemble piece, eloquently telling the story of the passionate relationship between the outspoken academic, Abelard and his enthused muse, Heloise, perfectly portrayed by David Sturzaker and Jo Herbert respectively. Sam Crane gives an award winning performance as Abelard’s nemesis, Brother Bernard and is supported by the most talented and inspiring troupe of performers. Delighting the senses, a live band of musicians enhance the action with authentic, medieval instruments and Hilary Lewis adorns the players in a wealth of stunning costumes.

This is an amazing production and definitely worth seeing. It sets the bar for all other shows to aspire to reach. Eternal Love runs until Saturday at Malvern before heading on to Brighton and Canterbury.

KINDERTRANSPORT

Malvern Festival Theatre

HALL AND CHILDS LTD

Emma Deegan and Gabrielle Dempsey

Diane Samuels' play Kindertransport is the intriguing tale of Eva, one of 10,000 Jewish children that were shipped out of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, to ensure their safety. Past and present moments of Eva's life play out simultaneously as her story unravels, exploring the impact it had (and continues to have) on three generations of family.

Although this play is now on the A level syllabus, the writing and Andrew Hall's direction appears to pitch it more toward a much younger audience. It doesn't really relate to the intellect and awareness of today's teenagers and could be seen as a little patronising. Having said that, the performances more than make up for this. Gabrielle Dempsey is absolutely superb as the protagonist, Eva, handling the emotional content and her character's journey with truth and dexterity. Emma Deegan gives a strong, honest performance as Eva's mother, Helga and Maggie Steed, despite suffering with a cough, proved her metal by soldiering on regardless in her role as Lil. Janet Dibley is perfectly mysterious in her role and Rosie Holden is ideal as her stroppy teenage daughter. There of plenty of unsettling moments provided by Paul Lancaster's in his scary interpretation of the Ratcatcher.

This is a good story and the subject matter is extremely interesting. Fundamentally though this play explores the relationship between mothers and daughters, with the horrors of the Holocoust acting as the catalyst for the familial struggles. Kindertransport runs at Malvern until Saturday.