“these three jewels of plays sparkle like the brightest stars”
Tomorrow at Noon consists of three short plays written in response to Noel Coward’s Tonight at 8.30. Tom Littler, the Artistic Director of the Jermyn Street Theatre says that he has ‘always been fascinated by the idea of theatre as conversation,’ and the ‘conversation’ between these plays and Coward’s originals is a fascinating and successful one. There are many new plays being performed in London theatres at the moment, and in this firmament of creation these three jewels of plays sparkle like the brightest stars. All three are beautifully written and were chosen from the three hundred and ninety submissions received in a competition launched last year.
Smite is written by Morna Young, in response to Coward’s ‘The Astonished Heart.’ We see two women in a room having an awkward conversation. We don’t know what their relationship is, who they are. It is the way this relationship is gradually revealed that holds the attention so well. Laura Morgan is superb as Allie, the younger woman. She is totally convincing, funny, vulnerable and strong. Laila Pyne is less credible as the older, artistic woman, partly because she does not look old enough for the part, the age difference between the two women in the play is important, and this casting does not serve it well. Pyne is, however, excellent in the other two plays. The set is a simple evocation of a luxury apartment, and works well, but the use of sudden blackout and loud music to signify the passage of time is intrusive and unnecessary. Young has taken the basic elements of Coward’s story and created a play that is contemporary and relevant, very different from the original but true to its essence. In her introduction to the play, Young says ‘I have challenged myself to write a feminist play featuring two women talking about an absent man. On paper it would fail the Bechdel test. My aim was to look beyond the individual man but, rather, at our societal stuctures.’ She succeeded.
The Thing Itself by Emma Harding is set in rural Iceland during a volcanic eruption that has blacked out the daylight. It is a response to Coward’s ‘Shadow Play.’ A woman, Vic, is drinking in a bar when her partner, Simone, comes in. It is not immediately obvious that they are a couple, and things get more interesting when the subject of divorce is raised. Elaine Claxton’s Vic is immediately likable and interesting, holding it together with vodka and humour, she is preoccupied with an incident from the past and a heavy responsibility she feels. Laila Pyne’s Simone is American, vivacious and interesting. There is a lot of delicious humour and real emotional engagement. When Simone leaves the stage Laura Morgan enters as Hanna. She identifies herself as a figment of Vic’s imagination. There is, perhaps, an echo of Coward’s ‘Blithe Spirit’ here, a ghost, or an imagining can both change us. Harding says that she chose to write a response to ‘Shadow Play’ because she was ‘drawn to this lack of certainty, as well as the metaphorical possibilities of its title. After all, shadows contain things that are hidden or half understood, or that have yet to reveal themselves. They contain secrets, guilt and doubts.’ Hanna sits at the edge of the stage, watching. Her arrival has changed things for Vic and Simone and we are never entirely sure what is real and what is not, a tantalising uncertainty that works really well. The set is, again, simple but evocative of place and the flickering lights and sounds that convey change work this time, as they are subtle and purposeful.
Glimpse is written by Jenny Ayres as a response to Coward’s ‘Still Life.’ The stage is transformed into a railway station in the mid nineteen nineties and Clarke, the station supervisor, played by Laila Pyne, is cleaning up vomit when Elaine Claxton’s Mags arrives. She sits on a bench and settles to wait. She has many bags and a shopping trolley. A very hungover young woman, Laura Morgan, is discovered by Clarke, and dumped next to Mags on the seat. As the play evolves we see a touching relationship between three very different women. Clarke is hard working and anxious for her promotion, but also protective of Mags. Morgan’s Woman returns to the station to thank the other two for helping her. Mags waits. Elaine Claxton’s performance as Mags is quite wonderful, and a complete contrast with her portrayal of Vic in ‘The Thing Itself.’ Mags is touching, hilarious, infuriating and someone we immediately want to know more about. This is the stand out performance of the evening. The set is convincing and atmospheric, and the ingenious use of lighting and sound to show the trains passing works well. Ayres says that she set the play in the mid nineties against the background of rail privatisation because she ‘wanted to create an atmosphere of change both on a personal and a national level.’ A choice that works beautifully.
All three pieces are directed by Stella Powell-Jones with a lightness of touch and sensitivity that allows the actors to shine. Louise Whitemore’s sets are perfectly judged to evoke the different atmosphere of the three plays and Emily Stuart’s costume design works well within the context of the time periods. Tim Mascall and Tom Attwood’s lighting and sound design, apart from the jarring moments in the first play, complement and add to the set and atmosphere.
This is a delightful and worthwhile evening of theatre and I hope that all three plays go on to be seen by a wider audience.
“the entire production company have done an absolutely incredible job of performing over seven hours of wonderful theatre”
Bedroom Farces is the first instalment of Noël Coward’s ‘Tonight at 8:30’, a series of nine plays performed over the course of the day at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Using a cast of only nine performers, the series of plays is a tough task to undertake, especially when working with a script written by such a well renowned playwright. Director Tom Littler does a great job of keeping the audience engaged throughout the first two hour fifteen minute instalment, leaving them waiting excitedly for the next two.
We Were Dancing is the first performance, and it achieves roars of laughter from the audience. The cast work incredibly well together, their comic timing impeccable. Set on the veranda of a country club in the 1930s, it documents a married woman and divorced man falling in, and quickly out, of love. Included is a song, which seems to lack the polish and professionalism of the rest of the play. The singing and dancing somewhat falls short of the incredible acting of the rest of the performance, however this does not remove from a hilarious and entertaining play.
Ways and Means (main picture) follows and is by far the best performance of the trio. Miranda Foster and Toby Cartwright play a penniless couple who are desperate to get their hands on money in any way they can. Forster and Cartwright work beautifully together, expertly presenting the couple and their wavering marriage. Set in one bedroom, with only a dresser and bed for set, Ways and Means is thoroughly entertaining, and you find yourself completely rooting for the couple as they attempt to figure out a solution to their problem.
Slightly more whimsical is Shadow Play. Incorporating elements of physical theatre, song and dance, it follows the dreams of Victoria Gayforth (Sara Crowe) after she learns her husband wants a divorce and takes one too many sleeping pills. They revisit the night they met, and the play is doused in a feeling of nostalgia and a need to know what went wrong. The dancing and singing were once again not quite up to the standard of the rest of the play, and the turbulent dream can be somewhat hard to follow, but the play provides a neat ending to Bedroom Farces.
Nuclear Families was the second instalment of Coward’s Tonight at 8:30, and included the majority of the cast in every play, showcasing each of their acting abilities in a multitude of different characters. The set in this series of performances was also incredibly detailed and worked perfectly. Family Album was the first play in this segment, a very short, simple, one room performance that shows a large family in mourning after their father had died. This play was heavily song based, but Rosemary Ashe and Jeremy Rose performed beautifully together, and the ensemble moments were also resonant and harmonious, a vast improvement on this element in Bedroom Farces.
Hands Across the Sea is a slightly more confusing and elongated play which did cause a slight lapse in the middle of Nuclear Families. Set in the drawing room of a wealthy couple’s flat as they have multiple visitors and get very confused over who is who, the plot doesn’t quite feel like it’s going anywhere. There are some hilarious moments, and once again the actors’ comic timing is perfect. Especially notable are Miranda Forster and Stefan Bednardczyk, who play the couple that own the flat, and Rosemary Ashe, who plays their loud and amusing friend.
The play that most stands out in this section, however, is An Astonished Heart (picture above). Much more serious and melancholy than the other plays, it steals the show as the most captivating and thought-provoking performance. The play documents the life of a psychiatrist, played by Nick Waring, after he has an affair and falls desperately in love with his mistress. Waring is incredible, and perfectly suited to this part. After showcasing his comedic skills in the previous plays, he really comes into his own in this performance. You really believe his slow decline at the hands of his wife and lover, sympathising with him even though he is in the wrong. Miranda Forster once again puts in an incredible performance as the wife, perfectly characterising her complicated character. An Astonished Heart was the perfect end to Nuclear Families, and strongly resonated with the audience even hours after leaving the theatre.
The final portion of the day was Secret Hearts which includes what is perhaps Coward’s most well-known play, Still Life (picture above). The first play in this instalment, Star Chamber, is one which has not been performed since 1936, and it was somewhat apparent as to why. The play lacked the energy and excitement of the rest of the collection, following a group of theatre committee members as they attempt to have a meeting. Like Hands Across the Sea, this play felt like a lapse in comparison to the others in this instalment, missing the comedy and enticement of the rest. It did give the cast the opportunity to once again embrace new characters, and each was well-developed and unique, somewhat carrying the otherwise tedious play.
Red Peppers followed Star Chamber, finally regaining the momentum and hilarity of the rest of the day. This short play follows a comedy duo, the Red Peppers, after they mess up their act and have to deal with the consequences backstage. Duo Rosemary Ashe and Jeremy Rose once again stole the show, their characters perfectly developed, their comic timing pristine and their voices perfectly complimenting each other. Their dance routines were of slightly lower quality, but considering the fact that they had been performing for almost six hours at this point over the course of the day, and the sheer amount of material that each cast member had to learn, this is very much forgivable. This was possibly the funniest of the nine plays and was well suited as the penultimate play before Still Life.
The much anticipated Still Life was the final performance of the day. After Laura, played by Miranda Forster, happens to meet Alec, played by Nick Waring, at a train station refreshment room, their chance encounter starts a tumultuous affair which can only ever end in heartbreak. Every cast member really came into their own in this final performance, fuelled by Coward’s faultless script. Whilst a few things did go wrong, including multiple cakes and a jug of milk ending up on the floor, this didn’t remove from the tension built by the main storyline. This play strikes the perfect balance between comedy and tragedy, ending the entire day on a bitter-sweet note.
Tonight at 8:30 was a long but rewarding day spent at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Whilst some of the plays did lapse over the course of the day, the entire production company have done an absolutely incredible job of performing over seven hours of wonderful theatre over the course of the day. Each instalment has its merits, and it is impossible to judge which one to hold in the highest regard. Every cast member showcases an incredible talent, playing nine completely different characters over the course of the day. Tom Littler did a fantastic job directing nine very different plays and managing to keep the audience fully entertained throughout. Special mention also has to go to Stefan Bednardczyk, who not only performed as an actor but also as pianist throughout the day. Tonight at 8:30 was definitely an ambitious, but amazingly accomplished series of plays which is definitely worth spending an entire day to experience.
Reviewed by Charlotte Cox
Photography by Robert Workman (Bedroom Farces and Secret Hearts) and David Monteith-Hodge (Nuclear Families)
