The Oast Theatre, home to a very well-organised
society in Tonbridge is a picturesque venue run by an extremely capable
team and Sardines is certainly looking forward to reviewing more
productions by way of the A21 this season.
Somerset Maugham's The
Circle is an elegant social satire, first
performed in 1921. This country house comedy follows two generations of
the upper class. Maugham's plot contains two triangles, each of a
husband, wife, and lover. The first of these includes Clive, a cuckolded husband, Lady Kitty (his ex-wife) and
Lord Porteous
(her second husband). Thirty years before the action of the play takes
place, Lady Kitty ran off with Lord Porteous, leaving her husband and
young son, Arnold. The play opens with the return of this now aged couple to a
family reunion instigated by Arnold's new wife, Elizabeth. To complicate matters,
the earlier abandoned husband, Clive, intrudes upon the visiting
couple, to wreak havoc.
The second triangle, made up of the younger
generation, consists of stuffy MP and furniture collector, Arnold,
his lively but bored wife, and their friend, Teddie. Bringing matters full
circle, Elizabeth and Teddie have fallen for each other and the central
plot revolves around whether they will elope like the lovers of
thirty years ago.
To be amused by the play, we need to feel sympathy
with the younger woman, as she is torn between her rich but dull
husband and her impoverished lover. Although Julie Flower, in this
pivotal role, appeared to be the perfect ingénue - looking beautiful
and striking - her performance, which was rather delivered on one
level throughout meant Elizabeth, ultimately, struggled to radiate the
necessary charm.
Mark Grist as her lover did look a little
inexperienced and was rather young for the role of Teddie (Elizabeth's
lover). This consequently robbed the duo of any simmering passion. In
fact, I can't remember seeing this 'passionate' couple embrace - or
even hold hands - during any of their stolen moments together as they
confess their true feelings for one another. As a romantic triangle, it
would have to be said the younger three were a little unappealing,
although it should be said that there was some very nicely done comic
touches as Arnold's obsession with his newly acquired chair bordered on
something more than fanatical.
Two of the actors belonging to the older
generation's triangle should be singled out for special praise. George
Young was fabulous as the ironic and ultimately fooled Clive. Equally
good was Annie Young as the self-centered former beauty, Lady Kitty.
She expertly played an aging woman desperate to hide the inevitable.
Mike Metcalf, as Lord Porteous looked every bit the part but needed to
work a little harder in bringing his accent up several more notches on
the class scale to meet those of his fellow performers.
Costume designers Jean Bruce and Pauline Causer,
skillfully dressed the cast; with expensive dresses and some of the
best wigs I have seen on the amateur stage. An area that The Oast
excels in with a near to professionally run costume (and hire)
department onsite.
The set by Ken Smith was gorgeous with its marble
flooring, drapes, and elegant colours suggesting both a tranquil
opulence and a museum-like coldness, reflecting the obsessive taste of
the largely passionless Arnold.
Congratulations to Sandra Barfield who stepped into direct at short notice; never an easy job, especially when you're charged with producing a production chosen by somebody else.
Although rarely performed the play still
demonstrates the durability of such ideas like the suppression of women
within marriage and the inability of youth to learn from the mistakes
of their elders.
I couldn't help but notice the fairly high audience age for this production of The Circle ...it will be
interesting to see how the Oast’s membership / audience react to Steaming in May.
