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Show: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
Society: London (professional shows)
Venue: Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, London. Produced by Trafalgar Studios
Credits: Peter Nichols
Type: Sardines
Author: Chris Abbott
Performance Date: 03/10/2019
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
Chris Abbott | 03 Oct 2019 19:03pm
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg – Toby Stephens, Lucy Eaton, Clarence Smith, Storme Toolis. Photo: Marc Brenner
Although A Day in the Death of Joe Egg by Peter Nichols is quite often revived, it is a play that has much to say, and at long last in this production Joe is played by a disabled actor. It has taken a long time for “Nothing about us without us” to have reached this piece. Storme Toolis plays the role from a position of authority, and is an effectively watchful presence throughout (though it is unfortunate that her wheelchair traps her slightly upstage of the rest of the cast at the curtain call).
Surprisingly, perhaps, the play seems less shocking than it once did; assuming that the script has not been cut. It’s a strong cast all round, with Toby Stephens entirely inhabiting the central role of Bri, convincing in his frustration and despair, and also managing to be very funny despite the opening school scene having dated rather more than the rest of the play.
Opposite him Clare Skinner is quietly impressive as the dogged carer and angst-ridden mother, always anxious to do what is right by Joe but never quite sure what that might be. It is a sign of the strength of the casting that the lesser roles of friends Pam and Freddie are much more believable in this production than is sometimes the case. As Pam, Lucy Eaton is coldly determined and Clarence Smith makes much of what can be a rather one-note part as Freddie, determined to get Joe moved to what he sees as a better placement for all the family.
Completing the cast as Grace, with formidable hat and convincing Bristle accent, is Patricia Hodge, giving a master class in how to command a stage with the smallest of gestures or some furious and determined knitting.
The production wisely keeps its period setting, with designer Peter McKintosh providing a completely convincing 1960s living room and some suitably period outfits. The opening school address is played in front of the rotated set, with the room only turning to come into view after that is complete, effective if not totally explicable. At those points where the characters break the fourth wall, director Simon Evans has them either addressing the audience directly in a lighting change or, less successfully, by sitting on the edge of the stage. Apart from this decision, and that to ask Bri to clamber into the room during the opening scene, this is an intelligent and thought-through production of this important play.
The recent death of playwright Peter Nichols should serve to remind us of the great range of his output. Although some of his plays such as Joe Egg and Privates on Parade are performed regularly, others have sunk without trace. We will not, perhaps, see another production of The Freeway which memorably put an entire traffic jam on the stage of the Old Vic, but it would be good to have a chance to re-assess The National Health. Most of all, at a time when there is renewed interest in the British in India, a revival of Nichols’ pantomime genre history of the East India Company, Poppy, would be welcome – perhaps in a rough and ready style rather than the full-scale production provided by the RSC for its premiere.
- : admin
- : 03/10/2019