Tag Archives: Jenny Lee

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“The Straw Chair” at the Finborough Theatre

There’s a lot going on in Sue Glover’s historical drama. The true history of an imprisoned noblewoman is told alongside the story of a newly married missionary and his young wife. Meanwhile the setting, a remote island steeped in paganism, elaborates on themes of religion and power. If the script is disjointed – an odd mix of romance and intrigue – The Straw Chair is always interesting.

First the location (the jail of Lady Rachel Grange as well as the parish needing a priest), the Hebridean island of St Kilda, is a character it its own right. Embodied by the only local we meet, Oona, played with great charm by Jenny Lee, there is a lot of anthropological detail. Might the role have a touch more drama? Should we be suspicious of Oona’s role as jailer? Nonetheless, her love of the island is evocative.

To hell, to Hades, to Kilda

For Lady Rachel, kidnapped and carted off to a house with only one chair, it is understandable and amusing that she hates St Kilda. In a commanding performance, Siobhan Redmond makes this great character fascinating as she plays with degrees of madness. She isn’t a figure of sympathy – her snobbery ensures that – but, as a mix of Mrs Rochester and Lady Macbeth, Redmond ensures the character has the required magnetism. It is to the credit of all, not least director Polly Creed, that the role doesn’t swamp the play.

Finlay-Bain-and-Rori-Hawthorn-in-The-Straw-Chair.-Photo-credit-Carla-Joy-Evans
Finlay Bain and Rori Hawthorn

Lady Rachel’s relationship with the newly wed Isabel could be elaborated on. It’s another strong performance – from Rori Hawthorn – but I wonder if the young woman is too naïve – and her growing affection for the island a little pat? The character is fuller when it comes to her relationship with her husband, the missionary Aneas, a role that benefits from a final strong performance, this time from Finlay Bain. The “rigid piety” of the aspiring churchman is offset by a convincing sense of religiosity and a nervousness around his young wife that Bain depicts expertly.

The play’s conclusion is wilfully frustrating. We don’t know what will happen to Lady Rachel or the couple whose marriage is tumultuous – little bodes well despite Bain and Hawthorn’s chemistry. And the minister’s conversion to Lady Rachel’s cause is so quick that it seems clumsy. This trip to this island feels rushed, but it is still a journey worth making.

Until 14 May 2022

www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Photos by Carla Joy Evans

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“It Is Easy To Be Dead” from the Finborough Theatre

One of the smallest venues in London – surely in desperate need of the donations requested while making this production available online – the Finborough’s prestigious reputation is lived up to in artistic director Neil McPherson’s play. Taking the life of World War I soldier Charles Hamilton Sorley, it makes appropriate viewing during the weekend of VE day: a moving tribute to lives lost in any war and – in particular –to one admirably independent, and therefore challenging, young man.

First seen in 2016 and justly receiving critical acclaim, including a nomination for an Olivier Award, McPherson’s play mingles the poetry and letters of his subject confidently, and director Max Key complements his careful editing. The same expert touch comes with the show’s music, directed by Elizabeth Rossiter, who performs on piano accompanying tenor Hugh Benson.

McPherson’s structuring of the play could serve as a lesson to many. Time is taken for us to get to know the subject, one so full of life before his death at the age of 20. When the war comes it is all the more powerful and Key deals well with battle scenes that contain only one man. The projections used throughout the show are frequently lost in this recording, but it is easy to imagine the mounting power as we see the faces and fates of so many of the people mentioned.

It is Easy to be Dead at the Finborough Theatre
Jenny Lee and Tom Marshall

There’s a strong sense of period, which never feels forced, shown at its best with the acting of Jenny Lee and Tom Marshall, as Sorley’s parents. Both give beautiful, restrained, performances of roles well filled out. The brief scene of their final goodbye to Charles is brilliant. And debates over whether to publish another “dead public school boy” show the cool intelligence their son inherited. Gratitude that they, and subsequently McPherson with his play, pursued their commemorative project grows.

It Is Easy To Be Dead is a major role for Alexander Knox as Sorley – its success rests on his shoulders. Winning from the start with a schoolboy wish to leave “custom on the shelf”, humour and touches of romance are all conveyed, along with plenty of additional characters. But Knox’s real skill is allowing the true star to be the play’s subject.

Sorley’s words draw us into the action and make us care for him enormously, but it is his common sense – over sentiment and even patriotism – that really impresses. Calling the conflict the “joke of the century”, claiming that of 12 million combatants only 12 really want to fight, his fury against “deliberate hypocrisy” (and critique of Rupert Brooke) are refreshing and much needed. As a final tribute, Knox’s readings of Sorley’s poems do them justice – surely a poet could wish no finer tribute.

Available until 7 July 2020

www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Photos by Scott Rylander

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“The Flouers o’ Edinburgh” at the Finborough Theatre

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This is my kind of way to join the debate about Scottish independence. As those north of the border go to the ballot box, Londoners should vote with their feet and visit the Finborough Theatre’s new production of The Flouers o’ Edinburgh. Set not long after the Acts of Union in 1707, it raises pointed issues of identity and politics, but in such an endearingly comedic fashion that the topics feel light and fresh.

Jennifer Bakst’s direction makes the play easy entertainment, controlling potential touches of farce and opting for a gentle comedy that is close to frothy. There’s plenty of satire but nothing mean spirited and, since politics is one of the topics, it ticks the ‘timeless’ box. Philip Lindley’s set and Rose Adolph’s costumes are impressive. The cast is huge for such a small venue and the standard of acting high. It all bounces along very merrily indeed.

Maybe the play feels so sprightly because of the romance at its heart. It’s Sir Charles and Aunt Girzie’s intention that his son and her niece should marry, but should the elder couple get together as well? Kevin McMonagle and Jenny Lee perform with such twinkles in their eyes, we yearn for their union. The younger Charles and his intended Kate have obstacles to overcome, namely his snobbery and ambition, all ripe for mockery. Finlay Bain plays Charles Jnr with great stage presence but a touch too much restraint. Leigh Lothian’s Kate is feisty and much more fun.

The hot topic is whether or not to abandon the Scottish language for English. Young Charles is an early adopter, to the disgust of all, especially Kate, who continues to speak in Scots. But rejecting the mother tongue is the only way to get ahead in public life. The playwright Robert McLellan makes his political point well, but what’s remarkable here is that, despite the language used, comprehension is easy. There’s a lot a Sassenach might not know but Lee, in particular, still manages to make you laugh. McLellan was committed to writing in Scots. It’s telling that this 1948 play is only now receiving its English premiere. This fine play is a very welcome import.

Until 27 September 2014

www.finborough.co.uk

Photo by Ciaran Cunningham

Written 3 September 2014 for The London Magazine