Malvern Festival Theatre
(Theatre Royal Bath Productions)
 |
| Helen George as Miss Julie |
Star of BBC’s Call The Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing,
Helen George, is disturbingly brilliant in the eponymous role of Patrick Marber’s
play After Miss Julie. A life of privilege has left Miss Julie bereft of any
sense of self, as she struggles for identity in a time of huge social change at
the end of the 2nd World War. A juxtaposed product of her father’s
thoughts and her mother’s feelings, she is confused and desperate to be loved.
On a night of celebration for the Labour landslide victory, she focuses her
attentions on the self-assured chauffeur. A class driven power struggle ensues
with an innocent third party getting caught in the crossfire. At its heart, this is a story of volatile
co-dependency fuelled by fear, insecurity and desire for recognition.
Marber’s script is disjointed and requires immense emotional
dexterity from the three actors. George absolutely nails it, as the
aristocratic ticking time bomb, Miss Julie. Equally impressive is Amy Cudden’s
performance as the devoted Christine and although Richard Flood, as her
intended, John, doesn’t quiet convince in his more tender moments, his
arrogance and anger are spot on. On the whole, Anthony Banks’ direction is good
but there are times that the dialogue and action lack the right intention. Some
of the staging is ineffective too, in particular the stage slaps, which are
poorly masked and don’t have the desired impact, despite the actors delivering
them perfectly. Colin Richmond has produced the most stunning set, which is
magically transformed over the course of the action with Philip Gladwell’s inspired
lighting design.
This one act play is a real emotional rollercoaster and is
captivating as the subject matter is uncomfortable. This is definitely one to
see and runs at Malvern Theatres until Saturday before continuing the last leg of
the tour in Brighton, Richmond and Milton Keynes.
4 stars
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