The Deep Blue Sea @ the Maddermarket
A deeply compelling tale with depth of character
There may soon be a vacancy in Mrs Elton’s boarding house. It’s a lovely little spot with a reliable gas powered fireplace and a landlady whose watchword is discretion; no important secrets shall cross her lips. The neighbours too are a marvellous bunch, a former medical practitioner with a German accent who left his past profession in the least suspicious circumstances imaginable and a lovely young couple who respect privacy and would never dream of interrupting you during important ‘life’ moments. The flat comes fully furnished.
Wait! What am I saying? I must be confused, maybe I inhaled something; the characters in Terrence Rattigan’s 1952 play, as excellently realised in The Maddermarket Theatre’s production, really wouldn’t make the best neighbours (consider that an example of comic understatement). One thing I can say for sure though – DO NOT LEND HESTER COLLYER A SHILLING FOR THE GAS METER. It will only end badly.
The play opens with Hester Page… er, Collyer, er… oh never mind, with Hester alone on stage. An extended sequence unfolds entirely in silence. The audience is immediately engaged; as heads crane to catch her every move a growing sense of dread descends over the room, realisation dawns. It is an interesting and powerful device that features throughout, the use of silence amidst the shouting and melodrama. It punctuates the action and gives shade to the more explosive moments. Though forever visited, Hester is constantly alone. Left to her thoughts she is emotionally stranded. Hers is a truly excellent portrayal at the heart of the piece, seemingly tranquil with unknown depths her shifts between the brash defence and the damaged loneliness are striking.
She is not the only character that seems damaged or incomplete in some way. The play is set in post war Britain, as a country attempts to rebuild after the devastation of WW2 our cast seem somehow trapped by their memories of the past, a shadow is cast across them all. Freddie Page continues to try and surround himself in the glamour and excitement of the RAF flying ace he used to be. He uses the language of the flyboys and dines off old glories. With his eyes set on the past he is cut off from Hester. Another excellent performance is given here in Freddie, his wit and derring-do turning toxic. This is helped no end with Don Draper levels of alcohol consumption. It’s like they’re playing a drinking game; sip every time something bleak happens. Don’t play along, you’ve only got one liver. The set is scattered with Hester’s paintings of coastal spots, of better times. A symbol of her being caught in the past, in happier times.
Beyond all else this seems a story of love and life. How love can be powerful, destructive and self-destructive. How a relationship can falter and fail if the partners do not share the same feelings or the same goals. When the flame of passion dims, what is left?
One thing did strike me as missing, though. Due to recent historical discoveries I was under the impression that 1950’s Britain was built almost entirely out of bunting. Bunting and the Dunkirk spirit! (I think it’s a type of Brandy?) Sadly the set was bereft of any gay fabric triangles which really brought the place down, and it might explain some of the dour chaps on stage.
This is not a play I was expecting to say I would enjoy. The story is difficult and emotionally draining but enjoy it I did. It is a deeply compelling tale with depth of character and is very ably performed. It definitely isn’t a first date (it would easily snub out any burgeoning romance) but it’s definitely worth a visit.
