Synopsis:
More than half a century after its premiere, Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea
remains one of the most powerfully moving dramas to have been written in
England since the Second World War.
Set against the backdrop of 1950s London, Hester Collyer leaves her husband
for the younger man she so passionately and desperately loves, an ex-fighter
pilot, who is having his own problems adjusting to post-war life.
Things don’t turn out quite as she had hoped. Faced with an uncertain future,
Hester struggles to come to terms with her situation — after all “when you’re
between any kind of devil and the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea sometimes
looks very inviting…” Is it to be the end of the affair?
This is a powerful drama about love and its illogicality, hope and despair, grief
and ultimately loneliness. |
Review:
by Linda Kirkman, Theatre Critic for the Daily Echo.
"BLTC has a reputation for attention
to detail, so the set and costumes for
this Terence Rattigan drama look
every inch the 1950s period they
represent. And since the script calls
for cigarette smoking, that too is
done — despite the building being a
non-smoking venue.
"But I wouldn't have wanted it to
be any other way, because a sense of
reality in the theatre is what makes
all the difference between good and
outstanding. And outstanding is the
only way to describe this production,
superbly directed by Patricia
Richardson, which centres round
the age-old theme of a woman leaving
her husband for the man she
loves, only to find that love does not
conquer all.
"Louise Thomas skilfully inhabits
the character of Hester Collyer,
bringing a real depth of emotion to
the role, and she is equally matched
by Paul Oliver as her lover, Freddie
Page — a character whose true feelings
I imagine were disguised by
Rattigan to comply with 1950s
English law.
"Crispin Goodall makes a fine
impression too as the mysterious Mr
Miller, and there are also good characterisations
from Adam Donoghue
(Philip Welch), William Franklin
(William Collyer), Jennifer
Davidson (Mrs Elton), Peter Beebee
(Jackie Jackson) and Kathryn Lloyd (Ann Welch)." |
poster