WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND at the Golden Goose Theatre
★★★
“The play has the air of a work in progress, but the five strong cast give it substantial shape”
Despite his literary success as a novelist and a poet, Thomas Hardy was quite a shy personality who tried to keep a precarious control over what aspects of his life were to be divulged and what were not. Although his two marriages have gained public attention, not much is really known beyond the facts. Following Emma’s death (his first wife) he burnt a manuscript of hers entitled ‘What I Think of My Husband’, together with most of her diaries. When Hardy’s second wife, Florence, decided to write a ‘biography’ of him, he retained control by dictating to her virtually the whole of the manuscript.
Writer David Pinner (whose novel ‘Ritual’ inspired the cult film ‘The Wicker Man’) delves deeper with a new play “What I Really Think of My Husband”. Its premiere, at the intimate Golden Goose Theatre, comes without fanfare or frills. The play has the air of a work in progress, but the five strong cast give it substantial shape in Julia Stubbs’ slick and engaging presentation.
When we first meet Thomas Hardy (Edmund Dehn) he has recently published ‘Jude the Obscure’ which received a harsh reception from scandalised critics, and which his first wife, Emma (Laura Fitzpatrick), perceived as being based on their own marriage. Dehn and Fitzpatrick spar like Edward Albee’s George and Martha, surrounded by their imaginary menagerie of cats. The cats have filled the gaps in their childless marriage while the bickering has displaced the romance. Intercut are scenes of the couple in their youth (Andrew Crouch and Aliya Silverstone) as yet unaware of the ephemeral nature of infatuation. When his wife dies, Hardy marries his secretary Florence Dugdale (Isabella Inchbald) who sadly could never really escape the shadow of the first wife. Her aspirations of being the true muse were thwarted by Hardy’s love poetry forever being inspired with Emma in mind.
Pinner’s script has a lyrical flow, referencing Hardy’s poetry such as ‘The Dawn after the Dance’ and ‘The Dead Man Walking’ and lesser-known works as well. There is a Gothic touch, with traces of dark humour. But although he treats the material with care and a poetic sensitivity, the result is a little confusing. Not so much due to the chronological shifts in the narrative, more because of an over emphasis on an extra character, also called Florence, and also played by Inchbald. The first half of the piece is slightly dragged down by the story of Florence Henniker, a poet and novelist who collaborated with Hardy. Inchbald comes into her own as Florence Dugdale in the second act. As Hardy’s secretary she manages to shield herself from Emma’s prophetic warnings. But later, as Hardy’s wife, she has little armour against the ghostly challenges from beyond the grave.
Dehn gives an inspired performance as Hardy, striking the right note of being somewhat unaware of his own excruciating behaviour. Fitzpatrick skilfully avoids throwing Emma into the role of victim and instead elevates the character into lead role material. After all, it is supposed to be her story. Yet it is also billed as a ‘ghost story’ in its marketing, yet this much anticipated through-line doesn’t fully materialise. We want more of the supernatural to manifest itself rather than hover in the twilight zone of the play; and it feels like Pinner has missed a trick here.
They say that ‘behind every great man there is a great woman’. With Thomas Hardy there were two. At least. And a ghost thrown in for good measure. Pinner sheds light on these characters, but it is Stubbs’ production – and the performances – that really bring them to life.
WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND at the Golden Goose Theatre
Reviewed on 24th November 2023
by Jonathan Evans
Previously reviewed at this venue:
Strangers In Between | ★★★★ | September 2023
What I Really Think of my Husband
What I Really Think of my Husband
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