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A gripping, timeless family drama with fabulous female characters and a stunning central performance. Summary
Rating
Excellent
Returning home after two years away, David (George Watkins) is proud and excited to introduce his new wife to his beloved mother, Mrs Phelps (Sophie Ward). As well he might be: Christina (Alix Dunmore) is charming and accomplished, and David is punching far above his weight. He finds his younger brother, Robert (Dario Coates), still living at home and still lacking a purpose, but somehow blessed with a vivacious fiancée, Hester (Jemma Carlton). This is a happy day, and the newly enlarged family gathers in the drawing room to celebrate. But the atmosphere quickly turns sour as it becomes obvious, to all but her sons, that Mrs Phelps is not merely manipulative, but calculating, and she wants her boys back.
Mrs Phelps is a wonderful role and Ward is brilliant in it. It is no accident that David and Robert idolise her; she is beautiful, graceful and serene, and (as she gently but consistently reminds them) has been everything to them: teacher, nurse, friend and guide. But while they see what everyone else sees, they don’t seem to hear what everyone else hears. Phelps is an emotional blackmailer, a gaslighter, a shameless martyr. Every word has an edge, an insinuation, a dishonesty or a malign intent. Over afternoon tea with Christina and Hester she seems rude, snobbish, perhaps old-fashioned, but as the evening progresses we see that she is actually ruthless, selfish and wilfully cruel. In less capable hands she could become a caricature, but Ward keeps her real, showing us the tiny moments of doubt or disquiet under the preternaturally poised exterior.
In Christina she has a worthy opponent and a character so relatable to a modern audience that she could have been written last week. Charming, stylish and a respected scientist, she is keen to make a good impression on her new mother-in-law. But it doesn’t take long for her to get the measure of Mrs Phelps, and fortunately she is mature enough to be able to defend her values and her marriage against this woman who cares for neither.
The action takes place in a drawing room and bedroom in Mrs Phelps’ New England home. Alex Marker’s set has a couple of sash windows, with doors and walls made of timber frame that evokes wood panelling. Like Mrs Phelps herself, the surroundings are restrained, classic and tasteful if not expressive. In this understated setting, Carla Joy Taylor’s costumes really illustrate the clash of generations. While Christina and Hester are dressed for the roaring 20s in bold drop-waisted dresses, with short hair and red lips, Mrs Phelps wears the dresses of an earlier era. In box pleats and muted colours, with her hair neatly pinned and her make-up minimal, she is absolutely the picture of elegance, but it’s clear that she represents continuity, not change.
This is a wordy play, staged in the round in the tiny Finborough Theatre, so it is almost inevitable that there will be movement for the sake of movement. And yes, characters do get up, sit down, cross the room, turn around and turn back rather more than is natural, but it’s still gripping stuff. Director Joe Harmston draws great performances not just from Ward but from the whole cast, allowing them to bring out every nuance of the subtly comic, but deadly serious dialogue.
Playwright Sidney Howard’s absolutely cracking drama looks at the mother-son relationship and the changing place of women in society. He has written three vibrant female characters who suffer believable pain and wrestle with questions about happiness and fulfilment that still resonate today. His male characters, made weak, cowardly and yet weirdly self-satisfied by their mother’s obsessive attention are harder to admire but eminently recognisable. Would they be stronger men in the presence of weaker women? Probably not. And the irony is that they can only move out of the shadow of an overbearing mother with the help of an even stronger woman.
One hundred years on, it is no longer shocking that a woman like Christina, who has worked hard to build a career, should want to continue this after marriage. With a century of hindsight we can applaud her ambition while also anticipating that she will end up working at least as many hours in the home as she ever does in the laboratory. Progress then, albeit imperfect. Conversely, we don’t seem to have found a remedy for toxic motherhood.
Written by: Sidney Howard
Directed by: Joe Harmston
Set Design by: Alex Marker
Costumer Design by: Carla Joy Taylor
Lighting Design by: Mike Robertson
Sound Design by: Amanda Priestley
Produced by: Andrew Maunder
This show plays at the Finborough Theatre until 28th September 2024. Further information and booking are available here.
