“Gemma Yates-Round beautifully encapsulates the challenging role of Alice”
“I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over”
Another Soup return to Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre to headline the ‘Whispers from the Walls’ season with their poignant interpretation of The Yellow Wallpaper.
The production is based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story about a woman suffering with postpartum psychosis, as she struggles to receive the correct treatment to enable her recovery. Although the original story takes place in the late 1800s, the key themes within the text are incredibly relevant today. Whilst we have improved our attitudes towards mental illness since the Victorian era, Another Soup’s refreshing take on the story reveals how much of the stigmatisation still prevails deeply within society today.
Gemma Yates-Round beautifully encapsulates the challenging role of Alice, and from her first moments on stage brings the audience emotionally towards her character. This intimate connection with the audience whenever she breaks the fourth wall establishes the way in which the director has cleverly chosen to stage what is originally a first-person narrative written by an author who had the same experiences.
This particular interpretation of the text did not seem to be set in any particular era, and in many ways is yet another directorial decision from Dave Spencer to stay true to the dystopian setting of Gilman’s work. As well as this, the set design by Mayou Trikerioti and Cecilia Trono, further helped establish this unsettling atmosphere in addition to encapsulating the shifting consciousness of Alice’s mind.
Whilst this story sheds light on the dated attitudes many still harbour towards mental illness, particularly when suffered by women, it also draws attention to wrong ways in which we can treat mental illness. In The Yellow Wallpaper, Alice is taken away from other people, and is strictly forbidden to engage in any creative activity and, as a result, this worsens her suffering. Perhaps in some ways this particular production alludes to the ways in which art can potentially assist in treatment for mental illness, as well as playing a role in further educating audiences on the journey of someone with postpartum psychosis.
“touches on many themes … in a witty and provocative way”
Award winning playwright Ron Elisha, in collaboration with theatre company Another Soup, has brought his new play to the Bread and Roses Theatre. Directed by Dave Spencer, Window revolves around Jimmy and Grace, a young couple in their late twenties who notice some activity in their neighbour’s bedroom which dramatically affects their lives forever. Window is a rather honest portrayal of domestic family life and how the unexpected can alter their seemingly comfortable and happy relationship.
As the audience enter, Jimmy, played by Charles Warner, is in bed with his iPad. After a few minutes Grace, played by Idgie Beau, enters and both characters playfully flirt with each other in bed. Grace soon notices something from their neighbour’s bedroom; something that perhaps she shouldn’t have seen, but she’s transfixed. Over the course of the play she becomes more and more obsessed with what she has seen and this soon becomes a problem. It is clear that the two actors, Warner and Beau, have a good dynamic which carries the show. Beau in particular plays Grace effectively, displaying her character slowly descending into obsession over what she’s seen from the window and this is displayed well by her sudden erratic movements and emotion which turns from curiosity to hysteria.
The set is minimal but effective, with the entire play taking place in one location: Grace and Jimmy’s bedroom. This intimate setting echoes the voyeuristic theme of the play, which, of course, includes the audience watching the actors who in turn are watching their neighbours. The fact that there is no set change allows the play to flow easily with the actors going into each scene smoothly and efficiently.
Although the premise of the story was interesting, the show seemed a little too repetitive and almost became mundane for the audience. After an hour and a half of the couple looking out of the window, with very little resolution at the end, it was hard to remain engaged. The couple watch from their window endlessly, scene after scene, as they discuss their relationship, infidelity and their daughter Carmen. It all became rather tedious. In addition, the characters seem to be stereotypes of their gender. Jimmy is the confident, calm and logical of the two, whereas Grace becomes neurotic, emotional and hysterical as the play goes on. This is perhaps rather obvious characterisation; perhaps if Spencer had subverted the gender stereotypes, with Jimmy gradually becoming neurotic and Grace caring for him in a calm and logical manner it may have been more interesting.
Overall, the play is an exploration into voyeurism and domesticity through the life of a young couple. Elisha’s writing touches on many themes such as the use of technology, mental illness and relationships in a witty and provocative way. Both Warner and Beau presented this well. However, the repetitive nature of the show became predictable and finally lacking a clear resolution.
Reviewed by Holly Barnard
Photography by Greg Goodale
WINDOW
is at The Bread & Roses Theatre until 16th September
