Warm at heart, cold in appearance
The Valentine Letters brings back to life the real correspondence between John Valentine, a military made prisoner of war during World War II, and his wife Ursula, left in the UK with their newborn child Frances. Working with archives is never an easy task, specifically on such an overly studied and represented historical event that is World War II.
The colossal work on the dramaturgy of this piece is, to start with, definitely to be praised. The writer condenses 400,000 words of correspondence into an hour and a half play (one hour and forty five minutes with interval) which preserves the essence of the protagonist’s character, their motivations, their fears and the strength of their bond. The storytelling is very clear and flowing, and if a bit repetitive towards the end, it brings the drama out of this very personal material beautifully, avoiding heaviness without diminishing their experience. Frances’ character, their daughter, taking the position of a narrator, doesn’t feel fully realised to me though. The very external position she’s put in, with not much interaction with her parents, makes it hard for us to properly connect with her even though she’s supposed to be the one bringing those voices back to life. She seems to be used as a purely informative device, when she could have brought a new sensitive point of view on her parent’s life. That being said, the play is, as a whole, very well realised.
While the play is a good piece of writing, it faces a couple of difficulties on stage. The structure of the show being entirely built on the corresponding couple, with some interventions of their daughter, quickly becomes repetitive. We find ourselves watching two actors facing the audience basically saying what they write to each other, one after the other, with very few variations, and their daughter/narrator intervening every now and then from the back of the stage. If the simplicity of this staging highlights their words with clarity, it doesn’t fill them with power, and on a very practical note, staging wise, it’s not always dynamic enough to keep our attention in the long run. The movement bits are too rare to constitute a real physical language throughout the show, and happen to be more distracting than telling the story. The costumes, the set, the lights and the music are simple and beautiful, but sometimes feel a little bit underused resulting in being a bit decorative and anecdotal within the whole piece. Overall, the look of it is very formal and feels a bit shy and tentative, and leaves us wanting to see more radical aesthetic choices to support and enhance the show as a whole.
It seems like the directions were more acting based, because the three performers on the other hand, all give interesting performances. If it felt a bit pushed during the first ten minutes, the three of them found a way to sit in their character and tell a fully embodied yet nuanced story together. Tom Hilton and Katie Hamilton’s engaging performances catch our attention straight from the start, depicting a believable relationship and its evolution, showing both strength and vulnerability and negotiating the play’s changes of register with fluidity. If Frances’ place is less clear to me, Charlotte Drummond-Dunn balances out the space with a calmer presence which softens the whole.
In short, The Valentine Letters is a show worth seeing, as it is fueled with love on various levels. There is, of course, the love story depicted on stage, but also a strong love for the material, and the love within the creative team. Despite the tragedies, the protagonists go through, and despite a form that doesn’t fully land, it is a heartwarming show at the core regardless.
Cast:
Charlotte Drummond-Dunn – Frances
Katie Hamilton – Ursula
Tom Hilton – John
Production Team:
Writer – Steve Darlow
Director – Jo Emery
Associate Producer – David Berryman
Stage Manager – Jo Emery
Lighting and Technical – Dorian Brook