This thoughtful, cross-cast pairing of early works from the pens of Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill provides a welcome opportunity to catch the UK premiere of the former’s Spring Storm, and to witness their initial explorations of themes which were to recur again and again in their later and better known dramas.
Set on a Connecticut farm, O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon (his first full length play, which premiered in 1920 and won a Pulitzer Prize) depicts two devoted brothers, one of whom loves the land whilst the other plans a life of travel, adventure, books and poetry. Both have fallen for the same girl (Liz White’s Ruth, her youthful anticipation turning to worn down bitterness and regret as the years pass) and, in trying to do the right thing by each other, end up crushing their own dreams and damaging themselves and their loved ones.
Written in 1937 when he was a student, and then discarded, Spring Storm (Williams’ second play) also has a young girl at the apex of a problematic romantic triangle. A forerunner of Blanche Dubois, Southern belle Heavenly (White again) is irresistibly attracted to Michael Thomson’s virile, bluecollar Dick (the names say it all) but is also reluctant to dismiss the wealth and social approval which marriage to well-educated, well-connected Arthur would provide. Arthur, in turn, dallies heartlessly with the spinsterish librarian (Anna Tolputt) who (intellectually, at least) would, in all probability, suit him far better.
There’s tragedy here, too, but also humour – in Heavenly’s coquettish attempts to seduce Michael Malarkey’s ineffectual Arthur and, especially, in Jacqueline King’s deliciously funny portrayal of her unstoppably snobbish mother.
Each play stands alone, but seen together they highlight the similarities between two giants of the American theatre and prove a feather in the caps of both the hosting National and Northampton’s Royal & Derngate where Laurie Sansom’s sensitive and atmospheric productions originated.
Cottesloe
Set on a Connecticut farm, O’Neill’s Beyond the Horizon (his first full length play, which premiered in 1920 and won a Pulitzer Prize) depicts two devoted brothers, one of whom loves the land whilst the other plans a life of travel, adventure, books and poetry. Both have fallen for the same girl (Liz White’s Ruth, her youthful anticipation turning to worn down bitterness and regret as the years pass) and, in trying to do the right thing by each other, end up crushing their own dreams and damaging themselves and their loved ones.
Written in 1937 when he was a student, and then discarded, Spring Storm (Williams’ second play) also has a young girl at the apex of a problematic romantic triangle. A forerunner of Blanche Dubois, Southern belle Heavenly (White again) is irresistibly attracted to Michael Thomson’s virile, bluecollar Dick (the names say it all) but is also reluctant to dismiss the wealth and social approval which marriage to well-educated, well-connected Arthur would provide. Arthur, in turn, dallies heartlessly with the spinsterish librarian (Anna Tolputt) who (intellectually, at least) would, in all probability, suit him far better.
There’s tragedy here, too, but also humour – in Heavenly’s coquettish attempts to seduce Michael Malarkey’s ineffectual Arthur and, especially, in Jacqueline King’s deliciously funny portrayal of her unstoppably snobbish mother.
Each play stands alone, but seen together they highlight the similarities between two giants of the American theatre and prove a feather in the caps of both the hosting National and Northampton’s Royal & Derngate where Laurie Sansom’s sensitive and atmospheric productions originated.
Cottesloe
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