Actor Daniel Abelson discusses In Praise of Love
The Orange Tree theatre are masters of presenting Terence Rattigan plays. It seems every production they touch turns to gold – so why stop now? This summer we’re looking forward to seeing In Praise of Love, starring Daniel Abelson, and were delighted when we got the chance to chat with Daniel and ask all about it.
Hi Daniel. Thanks for taking time out to talk to us today. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about the plot of In Praise of Love and the role you play?
No problem. The play takes place in 1974 when Lydia Cruttwell returns to her Islington flat with devastating news about her health. Her bitter but talented theatre critic husband, Sebastian, is definitely not the easiest of people to deal with, their Liberal Party canvassing son Joey has his first play on television tomorrow night, and their bestselling author friend who loves Lydia is arriving on the scene any minute now. How will they deal with the fall out of Lydia’s news? Or will she keep it to herself? The audience gets to see how it all unfolds in a terrifically intimate performance space. I play Mark Walters, the hugely successful author of bestselling mass-market fiction who enters into a plan of subterfuge with Lydia.
What kind of themes can we expect to encounter?
Death, illness, truth, lies, legacy, identity, relationships and charity. All a little sodden with the intake of vodka, scotch and bourbon that helps bring the drama and humour to the fore.
Set in 1974 and with references to wartime espionage, the story contains a range of nationalities amongst the characters. Does this historical and international backdrop offer any particular reflection on our current political environment?
You could say it reflects now in as much as both periods share a cold, scrappy, terrified, heartless, hypercritical, anxiety-inducing political and international landscape. Worryingly, what was going on then feels small beans to what we’re dealing with now. However, the play does deal with the distancing people face and cope with having gone through the horrors and traumas of a global event, in this case the Second World War. We’ve all come out of Covid (itself small beans in comparison to the war) – a collective trauma – without really stopping to take stock. We’ve just pushed on through without really facing up to how the experience changed us. Is distance a good thing? Is it better to forget? Untrustworthy people today want that to be the case. Stories must always be told. Currently we could learn a lot from how some of these beautifully written characters deal with life in a hectic world.
Can you tell us a bit about the cast and creatives you’re working with?
Absolutely. We are in the hands of the brilliantly intelligent, fun, chilled, methodical, patient director Amelia Sears. She loves this play and she loves actors so we couldn’t ask for anything more. The other three cast members are so very talented and skilled. It’s a treat and a hoot to be in their company. We have a great stage crew behind us doing all the hard work and the production crew have done a terrific job with the design, lights, sound and costumes. And the play itself is a fine Swiss watch by a master playwright.
You’ve appeared at The Orange Tree before. How do you feel about performing in the round in such an intimate space?
I love it. There’s nowhere to hide. Even the backs of your ears have to be engaged! The tension, humour, love and subterfuge of the piece in such an intimate setting will hopefully have a deep impact upon an audience sharing the same space. As a performer it’s a challenge and a lot of fun to undertake.
Thanks very much to Daniel for taking time out to chat with us about this intriguing production.
In Praise of Love plays at the Orange Tree theatre from Saturday 24 May to Saturday 5 July. Watch out for ET’s review coming up!
Further information and tickets available here.
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