I was excited about going to see Maurice’s Jubilee, having watched the cast in rehearsal at the tiny Pleasance Theatre in London last month. (see January 21 blog post) Prior to that it had gone down a storm on the small stages and venues at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival so my main concern was how it would transform to the echoey vastness of the New Vic, Woking. More of that later....
For the last 59 years and 364 years he has looked forward to this day, planning, dreaming and driving his wife Helena to distraction. She admits to his new carer Katie that she has been consumed with jealousy all these years, and in consequence ‘can’t stand the Queen’.
At the outset, this seems to be a straightforward domestic play about a sweet old couple, one of whom, Maurice, is obsessed with the Queen. It is the day before his 90 birthday, and he remembers obsessively a magical day 60 years earlier when he met the young Queen Elizabeth, danced with her, and accepted with joy her promise to visit him on his 90th birthday.
For the last 59 years and 364 years he has looked forward to this day, planning, dreaming and driving his wife Helena to distraction. She admits to his new carer Katie that she has been consumed with jealousy all these years, and in consequence ‘can’t stand the Queen’.
This is much more than just a play about old age. Nichola McAuliffe, who both wrote it and stars in it as the carer, says she wanted to remind us all that old people still have dreams, still fall in love and still look forward to things.
Julian Glover (Maurice) and Sheila (Reid) play their respective roles with great tenderness and their years of experience on stage on screen is evident throughout. They simply glide through the scenes and we are totally there with them, in their sitting room in their bungalow in Penge. There is humour and tenderness in equal measure, and McAuliffe’s dialogue truly captures the relationship between 2 people who have spent decades in each other’s company.
Julian Glover (Maurice) and Sheila (Reid) play their respective roles with great tenderness and their years of experience on stage on screen is evident throughout. They simply glide through the scenes and we are totally there with them, in their sitting room in their bungalow in Penge. There is humour and tenderness in equal measure, and McAuliffe’s dialogue truly captures the relationship between 2 people who have spent decades in each other’s company.
The second act accelerates into brilliant comedy, thanks to the talents of McAuliffe herself but to say why she’s so funny would reveal the plot. Just trust me - she has the audience peeling with laughter, and Glover and Reid do a remarkable job keeping a straight face.
So, we have good acting, a great script - but does it work in a larger venue? Not too well sadly. The intimacy at Edinburgh must have been a great part of it success. It’s such a tender piece that you need to be near this old couple, you need to hear their sighs, feel the flicker of pain on their faces and see the incredible joy of Maurice in the very end. And because the two main character are meant to be frail, those tender lines said with a thoughtful whisper are sometimes missed.
But go see it - it’s a great piece of writing and a wonderful play. Just book your seat as near to the stage as you can.
Maurice’s Jubilee is at the New Victoria Woking until this Saturday, Feb 16th. Box office: http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-victoria-theatre
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