Triumphant Vortex @ Kingston's Rose Theatre

Any play directed by Stephen Unwin has a head start, and the current production of The Vortex is no exception. On my way to the press night at Kingston’s Rose Theatre I was thinking "Hmmm, probably classic Noel Coward, heavy Edwardian furniture, people wafting about in silk dressing gowns, witty exchanges and cigarette holders." Well, I was right bout the cigarette holders, but not much else.

Unwin’s set is simply a square white canvas, slightly on a tilt, and furniture is minimal and far from Edwardian. The sofa taking centre stage is a pair of big red lips, very 60’s in fact. Immediately I felt excited by this fresh, minimalist approach to what was to be a very intense and let’s say, spirited play - a far cry from the middle-class light comedy so often attributed to Coward.

The Vortex is in fact fast-paced, raunchy, funny, sad, slightly frightening and absolutely gripping. It tells of the return from Paris of a creative, lively, passionate young man called Nicky, brilliantly played by David Dawson. Truly I could not take my eyes of him - his energy spitting forth with every word, his body tense with emotion. Dawson can convey a sweep of emotion by literally moving just an eyebrow.

There are flashes of Shakespeare in his acting, and his final scene, which I won’t give away, is incredibly moving, drenched in emotion and physically demanding. 

Equally engaging is his mother, Florence, played with flamboyant assuredness by Kerry Fox, whose intense relationship with men and her crippling need to be adored eventually brings her and Nicky head-to-head. Fox occasionally has a little Ab Fab about her voice which brought titters from the audience, sometimes in lines that I felt weren’t actually meant to be funny. But comedy is far from our minds in the final ten minutes when Fox puts every ounce of energy and passion into a heady, tumbling, psychological confrontation with Nicky. They are, as Nicky puts it: “Swirling around in a Vortex of beastliness.”

Bustling around them and trying to patch up their fractured lives are an assortment of family and friends, all truly believable in their roles, but the biggest surprise of all being James Dreyfus (from Gimme Gimme Gimme) whose sharply flouncing wit brings roars of laughter. Dreyfus is perfect for Coward’s dialogue - sharp, spikey and very witty.

Noel Coward was only 23 when he wrote The Vortex, and the year was 1924. His idea came when he was eating at a supper club and his friend’s mother was seen cavorting with a much younger man. Out of Coward’s speculation as to how his friend would re-act came the idea for The Vortex.

It is incredible that the young Coward could so compassionately put himself into the shoes of a much older woman who is definitely not ageing gracefully, and he completely captures the pain of the mother-son relationship. Along with themes of inappropriate parental behaviour and the frightening grip of addiction, we get a snapshot of middle-class post-First World War.

Life in England was on the cusp of massive change politically and socially - little does Nicky know this as he clutches his mother in desperation, clawing at her clothes and repeating again and again “Promise me you’ll change, promise me, promise me.”

Whether change brings Nicky the peace he so yearns for is left for us to decide.

Last few days! Don’t miss it - The Vortex is at the Rose Theatre Kingston until March 2.

Maurice's Jubilee - a play fit for a Queen

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....

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.

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