Tag Archives: Dominic Mafham

“That Face” at the Orange Tree Theatre

It’s hard to believe Polly Stenham was just 19 when she wrote her award-winning play. Fifteen years after its première at the Royal Court, this solid, focused writing feels just as fresh, while its harsh yet humorous look at mental health is as urgent as ever.

Parentification is the theme (that’s from the programme) as mother Martha is looked after by young son Henry. These are tremendous roles for Niamh Cusack and Kasper Hilton-Hille. Cusack’s experience means she can make her character magnetic. While her actions are upsetting, even inexcusable, traces of the woman she was before illness are clear. Martha’s own trauma makes her sympathetic and her love for Henry is twisted but indisputable. Hilton-Hille makes a professional stage debut whose precociousness mirrors Stenham’s back in 2007. It is heart-wrenching to see how the youth has tried to save his mother and the impact it has had. Henry is “a good boy with bad parents” but there is a frightening rage to the writing and performance that Hilton-Hille conveys brilliantly.


Youth is what we’re about – which makes sense – but also makes Martha a mystery. And the only other adult role suffers. Dominic Mafham does an excellent job as the absent father, arriving from Hong Kong late in the day. But while the character deserves the blame he gets, such finger pointing comes close to simplistic and his inclusion in the play feels rushed.

That-Face-Kasper-Hilton-Hille-and-Ruby-Stokes-credit-Johan-Perrson
Kasper Hilton-Hille and Ruby Stokes

On firmer ground, the play tries hard to be more than a shocker, and director Josh Seymour does well to bring out ambivalence – Martha and her boy aren’t allowed to steal the show. A daughter provides an excellent role for Ruby Stokes, a second fantastic stage debut, who impresses with precious moments of restraint. She’s a foil, for sure, but still a full character – and funny. A schoolfriend is also successfully written and gives us another performance to praise, this time from Sarita Gabony. Both girls could be dismissed as spoiled brats – Stenham has a keen eye for privilege in many forms -until you see what they are going through.

There’s no doubt that That Face is fraught, possibly too much so for all tastes. But, importantly, much of the drama and self-indulgence is not just because of the teenagers. Martha’s “upside down world” is too obvious at times. And the “nightmarish quality” (cleverly reflected in Eleanor Bull’s design, which includes an excellent revolving bed) referred to is far from subtle. There are lots of uncomfortable moments that Seymour handles bravely. If some of decisions might be better suited to a less intimate venue, that might bode well for the show’s future. I could see a transfer for this one – the play and production deserve it.

Until 7 October 2023

www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk


Photos by Johan Perrson

“Linda” at the Royal Court

Best wishes – also commiserations – to Kim Cattrall, originally cast in the title role of Penelope Skinner’s new play, who withdrew for health reasons at the last minute. Instead, Noma Dumezweni gets the chance at a brilliantly meaty part and wins huge admiration. Although performing with the script close by, Dumezweni’s is a towering rendition that gets to the nub of Skinner’s grand efforts with precision.

Linda is a woman who has it all: career, kids and “the same size ten dress suit” from 15 years ago. But she’s 55. Employed by the beauty industry, enjoying plenty of predictable irony, Linda isn’t safe, despite her success. It could all be a standard, if satisfying, drama with important issues and depressing topicality. But it’s far from that. Michael Longhurst’s direction is smooth and Es Devlin’s budget-busting set a two-tier rotating triumph, combining work and home, with a moat for extra symbolism. And, excitingly, Skinner takes risks with her script that stops the show being too polished.

For much of the first act, Linda is the only well-rounded presence. Other characters are oddly transparent – a brave move – making them cringe-worthy vehicles for Skinner’s toe-curling humour. The men come off especially badly: a new-age hipster intern (Jaz Deol), insulting boss (Ian Redford) and mid-life crisis husband (Dominic Mafham). Can men really be this crass? Don’t answer. But best of all is Linda’s new rival at work, a younger woman, naturally, who you’ll love to hate, with Amy Beth Hayes’s performance guaranteed to make your blood boil.

Karla Crome and Imogen Byron
Karla Crome and Imogen Byron

It’s when flesh is put on the bones of other roles that the play falters. Mother and daughter relationships are insightfully probed, with clever Shakespearean nods. And as Linda’s daughter’s, Karla Crome and Imogen Byron grow up impressively before our eyes. But by now we just want Linda. It’s her late realisation that she has “ta’en too little care” outside the office, rather than her daughter’s plights (these alone could make another play) that interest. Despite Longhurst’s valiant efforts, searching deeper issues slows the pace too severely. Thankfully, a final flourish of outrage shows Skinner as outlandish once more. She is surely not a writer to be messed with.

Until 9 January 2016

www.royalcourt.com

Photos by Johan Persson

“The Merchant of Venice” at Shakespeare’s Globe

Jonathan Munby’s new production will be memorable alone for marking Jonathan Pryce’s magnificent debut at Shakespeare’s Globe. Not to belittle Pryce’s achievement – it would have been a surprise if he wasn’t right for the role – the bigger story is that the whole production is of a consistently high standard, making it one of the best I’ve seen at the venue.

Munby embraces the play’s sometimes off-putting mix of comedy and tragedy. The broad humour that does so well at the Globe is present, most notably in Stefan Adegbola’s servant, Launcelot, going down a storm by pulling audience members on to the stage. And there are particularly fine comic performances from Dorothea Myer-Bennett and David Sturzaker, as Nerissa and Gratiano.

At the heart of it all are those most concerned with the theme of justice: the woman who masquerades as a judge, Rachel Pickup as a glacial Portia, and Dominic Mafham as the titular merchant Antonio, imperiled by the word of the law. These parts anchor the show and reveal the structure of Munby’s grasp.

As for the tragedy, no excuses are made for the text’s anti-Semitism, displayed in all its cruelty and violence. Spat at and assaulted, Pryce plays it straight, which all the more demands our attention. He is joined onstage by his own daughter Phoebe Pryce, playing Shylock’s child Jessica, who is full of passion and seemingly born for the role. Culminating in a heart-rending scene as she sings while her father is forced to be baptised, it’s a fine finale that confirms how brave this production is.

Until 7 June 2015

www.shakespearesglobe.com

Photos by Manuel Harlan