Tamsin Greig and Oliver Chris are superb in this gorgeously detailed revival of Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea at Theatre Royal Bath
“There is her real husband…”
It’s a bit of a shame that the energy generated by Terence Rattigan’s centenary year in 2011 hasn’t really resulted in his work being revived more often. Even if it might be difficult to match superlative productions such as the National’s After the Dance and Trevor Nunn’s Flare Path, it would be good to see his oeuvre more thoroughly integrated into the British theatrical canon, at least as much as Noël Coward’s.
The Rattigan play that we do get to see more often is The Deep Blue Sea, arguably his finest and with a lead role for the ages (which I’ve been lucky to see Maxine Peake, Amanda Root and the late great Helen McCrory deliver on stage). Here, Tamsin Greig takes on the part of Hester Collyer, an upper-middle-class woman bursting with unfulfilled passion in a 1950s Britain that demands emotional repression above all else.
Hester is having an affair with Oliver Chris’ Freddie (because, well, who wouldn’t), a former pilot struggling to find his place in a post-WWII world and reeling from the intensity of his lover’s feelings. That affair seems to have run its course but as she’s left her husband to be with Freddie, Hester’s options are looking punishingly, vanishingly slim. Nicholas Farrell’s Sir William, the husband, is still around but can they go back with all that has happened?
Greig is close to perfection in Lindsay Posner’s production. Achingly sad, she reveals the soul of a woman who has opened the door to something new but finds herself despairing at either choice. There’s a brittle sense of wit about her but we feel every ounce of effort she exerts to still put on a brave face for the outside world, how it crumples when finally alone. In this intimate space, it’s a performance that feels truly special.
Around her is sterling work. Chris’ Freddie grows in self-awareness as he clocks how far off the deep end he’s gone with Hester, his sensitivity beautifully portrayed. Farrell’s judge is tenderly and ruefully drawn and Finbar Lynch stands out as neighbour Miller, the struck-off doctor helping Hester even as he deals with his own turmoil. Peter McKintosh’s set and costume design evoke a powerfully gloomy sense of time and place into which this all unfolds.a
