Tag Archives: Jonathan Hansler

UNTIL SHE SLEEPS

★★★

White Bear Theatre

UNTIL SHE SLEEPS at the White Bear Theatre

★★★

“There are many complicated strands to the play – probably too many – which dampens the suspense.”

Edward and Henrietta Dunbar are all surface. In public – especially down at the golf club – their silky, satin finish hides a variety of cracks like the finest emulsion. But behind the smooth talk and polished speech, and behind closed doors, we see a very different story. Brad Sutherland’s new play, “Until She Sleeps”, centres on this oddly caustic couple as they navigate the minefield of mistrust and cruelty. The misgivings extend out into the audience; we are never sure whether they are playing a cruel game for others’ benefit or for their own perverse amusement. They are bound to attract comparisons to Edward Albee’s Martha and George, particularly when the less colourful pair – Peter and Nicola – are reluctantly sucked into their orbit.

Henrietta, it turns out, is battling motor neurone disease. At first, she is in the early stages and Edward has his suspicions that she might be faking it. We never really get to grips with his qualms which are swiftly brushed aside and subsequently ignored. Similarly, the subtext of euthanasia is explored briefly, touching on the legal and moral complexities, but not followed through until a passing mention later on. Blackmail and fidelity are subjects more successfully handled, which are expressed through Sutherland’s often sharp dialogue rather than exposition, yet just as we are enjoying the more emotive moments, we are led back into pragmatic issues such as tax evasion and probate.

At its heart, though, is paranoia. A sickness more destructive and toxic to the marriage than Henrietta’s progressing disability. Jonathan Hansler manifests the frustrations with an incisive portrayal of a husband who never knows if he is the culprit or the victim. It is a strong performance, levitated with shades of John Cleese on a bad day. Tonya Cornelisse, as Henrietta, vacillates between a provocative closed coolness, and her exposed anger. Her rich, sultry voice dominates the stage, making it all the more tragic when her illness robs her of the power of speech.

Rowland D. Hill and Robin Miller, as Peter and Nicola respectively, are simultaneously the foils and conscience. Less complex, their characters are more weakly written. Miller struggles sometimes with the character of a woman denied the pleasures of an affair, while her lines veer towards simplicity rather than the complexity they require. Hill has more success as he rebuffs Edward’s attempts to lure Peter into his web of subterfuge. These scenes, away from the probing ears of Henrietta (or so we think), enhance the smokescreen effect of deceit and secrecy.

Despite the odd instance of clumsy blocking, David Furlong’s direction keeps the narrative fast paced and succinct (every now and then we fast forward a year or so) yet manages to take a breath for the humour to relieve the darkness. The isolation often found in a relationship is occasionally played for laughs before being plunged back into pathos. There are many complicated strands to the play – probably too many – which dampens the suspense. And sometimes the actors appear to be struggling to keep up. Yet despite the complexities we eventually find ourselves on the straight and narrow. The brief appearance of Nurse Millie (Orsolya Nagy) is an odd and superfluous decision. The intention is maybe that she steers us towards the play’s conclusion, but it is only when Edmund and Henrietta are left alone again that we can actually reach it. Saying very little, Hansler powerfully turns his character around with a quiet, emotionally charged performance that answers more of our questions than the rest of the evening managed to.


UNTIL SHE SLEEPS at the White Bear Theatre

Reviewed on 7th November 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Paddy Gormley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SEVEN DAYS IN THE LIFE OF SIMON LABROSSE | ★★★½ | October 2024
THE BOX | ★★★ | July 2024
JUST STOP EXTINCTION REBELLION | ★★★ | February 2024
I FOUND MY HORN | ★★★★ | February 2023
THE MIDNIGHT SNACK | ★★★ | December 2022
THE SILENT WOMAN | ★★★★ | April 2022
US | ★★★★ | February 2022
MARLOWE’S FATE | ★★★ | November 2021

Until She Sleeps

Until She Sleeps

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The First Modern Man

The First Modern Man
★★★

Hen & Chickens Theatre

The First Modern Man

The First Modern Man

Hen & Chickens Theatre

Reviewed – 21st February 2019

★★★

 

“Jonathan Hansler gives an imposing performance as the French philosopher, holding court as he meanders through his life and thoughts”

 

To condense the life of Michel de Montaigne into an entertaining hour’s show, complete with insightful quotations and amusing anecdotes, is no mean feat. A Renaissance humanist who has been criticised, appreciated and revered over the centuries, his ‘essays’ are a record of his thoughts and experiences, written and shaped as they came to him and giving rise to a new literary form; “As my mind roams, so does my style”. Born in 1533, he was witness to the decline of intellectual optimism in France – the Calvinist Reformation and the Wars of Religion – which rejected not only his education but also his fiercely active mind. After a career in the local justice system and the Bordeaux Parliament, and with inherited financial security, he retired from public life to the tower in his chateau to read, write and meditate. And this is where we meet ‘The First Modern Man’.

Writer, Michael Barry, lends us the role of an English visitor and in the intimate setting of his tower, Michel tells us about his upbringing, his travels, his cat, his family, his ailments… his mind flitting from one subject to another. The play mirrors his fluid train of thought, but the overall impression lacks shape. He manages to fill the hour to the brim with all the important stages of de Montaigne’s life and copious details from his writing, but the play strides from beginning to end with little contrast. Jonathan Hansler gives an imposing performance as the French philosopher, holding court as he meanders through his life and thoughts. His comic timing is excellent but the direction rushes past the possible natural dynamics of this prolix monologue.

Director, Helen Niland makes constructive use of the small stage space but the explanatory movement, props and technical effects detract from the words, which are what holds de Montaigne’s story together. The pace and busyness may be intended to reflect a mind running after itself but in spite of a few punctuated pauses, it often feels like a race against the clock. Both the lighting (Venus Raven) and sound (Julian Starr) are consistent with the action but become almost blatant in their unnecessary underlining of the script.

The title ‘The First Modern Man’, attributed to de Montaigne by twentieth century literary critic Erich Auerbach, certainly echoes the blogs and posts of today’s social media and what’s more, his scepticism, his position as nominal Catholic and his insistence on his own mediocrity point to the ‘dumbing down’ often referred to nowadays. His writing shows a man out of the context of his time, sensitive, open to the unusual and seeking security in the back room of his mind, but this perspective fails to come across. It is, nevertheless, a very watchable show, full of interesting contemplation and observation but would benefit from allowing de Montaigne’s character to grow in dimension or risk being a dramatised ‘Horrible Histories’ lesson.

 

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

 


The First Modern Man

Hen & Chickens Theatre until 2nd March

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Abducting Diana | ★★★½ | March 2018
Isaac Saddlesore & the Witches of Drenn | ★★★★ | April 2018
I Will Miss you When You’re Gone | ★★½ | September 2018
Mojo | ★★ | November 2018
Hawk | ★★★ | December 2018

 

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