Rebecca @ Theatre Royal

Knee-high Theatre interpret a classic tale.

by lizzoutline 22 September 2015

I first read Rebecca about 10 years ago, and never have I been so entranced and gripped by a novel from the first page to the last. It’s a dark, bitter and twisted tale shrouded in semi-opaque sea mists, attended by a terrifyingly sinister spinster housekeeper, a repressed and grieving man, an innocent and fearful young woman and a mad boy who lives on the beach. It’s full of intrigue and secrets and fear. It’s properly and terrifyingly great; the sort of book you immediately want to tell everyone you know to read. I saw it at the Theatre Royal a few years back with Nigel Havers and it was pretty bleak, with no stage set or atmosphere at all. Not great.

This production, by Kneehigh Theatre who recently remade Brief Encounter for the stage was very different again. Director Emma Rice (soon to become Artistic Director at The Globe) has turned Rebecca on its head. This version has an amazing set, sure, with a working chandelier, balustrades, a rowing boat, slippery looking driftwood and a very clever and smooth way of moving bits around to create new sets within sets. The costumes are great and so are the sea shanties, sung by fishermen in full gear throughout the show.

But.

There are some things you don’t mess with. And making Rebecca, a story about fear and loss and grief and jealousy into a hammy comedy is one of them. The audience was mostly pretty confused and only some laughter trickled through as we quickly realised, mostly with horror, what was happening. The characters were all overplayed, almost like a pantomime. There was a puppet dog who sniffed peoples crotches, you know, for a LAUGH. There was a foolish servant boy with a strong Welsh accent who thought it was superfun to answer the phone and talk about his mother’s menopausal symptoms. You know, for a LAUGH. There was the moment when we came back after the interval to find the cast all doing the Charleston on stage. Even the supposedly WICKED Mrs Danvers who we’re supposed to shit ourselves whenever we see. You know, for a LAUGH. There were people being drunk and stupid wearing fancy dress and showing their undercrackers. You know, for a LAUGH. But, see, I wasn’t laughing. The strength of this story is its serious look at the darkness within all of us, the lengths to which we will go for love, or for hate, and the role a young, naïve girl plays in a world she doesn’t understand. All of that was whipped out from under us with this performance, leaving not very much in terms of substance but something, admittedly, in style. I felt like it was all one big joke at the audience’s expense…we’d come to see a tale we all loved played out on stage, and sure, I don’t mind a challenging or unusual adaptation to keep things fresh, but this was a step too far. Key parts of the story were changed, including the supposedly horrifying ending, which was just heartbreaking not to include. Even the fact that the image of Rebecca herself is on the front of the programme and on the posters and even on the stage curtain itself is weird. The book/play might be called Rebecca but it's a well known fact that she's not even in it. FFS, don't show us what you think she looks like! We're supposed to be using our imaginations!

Still, the lady next to me was in hysterics the whole way through, so at least someone had a LAUGH. Too playful and silly for me, I'm afraid. I'm too Mrs Danvers and not enough Bea I guess.