“A witty script played well, but could have done more to bring out more of the subtleties.”
E.M. Delafield’s play follows the classic tropes of the 1930s that we have become accustomed to in the modern era. However, for the time it would have been a political force to be reckoned with, bringing to light the juxtaposition between the older generations of men and women who firmly believe women belong in the home, against a new era of women getting jobs and spending more time outside of the home. These stereotypes are brought to life cleverly using only four characters, sisters Caroline and Jill, Caroline’s tiresome husband and Owen, Jill’s eventual fiancé.
The characters are fairly straightforward. Freddie is the stereotypical husband who expects his wife to be home and doesn’t understand why she might need romance. Caroline on the other hand is constantly wishing for more attention and love. Jill is a headstrong woman, continuing to push the boundaries and embrace the opportunity to follow a different path that was newer to women at the time and Owen is also representative of the charming new age man, navigating this exciting time alongside Jill.
The performance used these stereotypes in a charming manner, with witty lines delivered well and getting solid chuckles from the audience. The set was painted white, reflecting the bright and easygoing nature of the content. In addition to the scripts witticism, the character of the housemaid, played by Pat Holden with very few lines, added much hilarity in her mannerisms about the stage and ability to turn up at just the wrong moment. A clever use of silence for comedy gold. Similarly, Jonathan Davenport did well to make use of of the full space on the stage to add to the commanding nature of his character, Owen.
Whilst this was an enjoyable lean into the script, it was difficult to tell more broadly whether the actors could have done more with their characters. Whilst each played their characters well, for example Rebecca Pickering clearly enjoying playing the headstrong Jill, leaning into her sass and confidence, there was also a softer, insecure side of Jill that could have been brought out more. There could have been more dimensions explored within the script, particularly given that the modern audience is accustomed to this type of storyline. Similarly the character Caroline, portrayed well as a sweet and tired out housewife by Becky Lamb, felt somewhat rushed at times, losing some of the key emotional depth of the character.
The performance felt more confident in the second half, perhaps opening night nerves, meaning the character’s story arcs were neatly performed and giving the audience the continued sense of charm and satisfaction. Jonathon Henwood in particular took more time in the second half to bring out the pleasing character arc of Freddie and adding to the satisfactory ending.
In future, it would be interesting to see what could be done to bring out more of the subtleties of this script and the more conflicting emotions of the characters to add more depth to what was a charming and enjoyable performance.