Review written for Doncaster Free Press (February, 2011)
(unedited text below)
Arthur Miller was one of the great modern American
playwrights and created some of the finest dramas of the last century.
Doncaster Little Theatre celebrated his work with Two Way Mirror, a double bill of two of his lesser known one-act
plays.
Elegy of a Lady, a
short piece set in a boutique sees a man looking to buy a gift for his dying
mistress. He quickly finds himself unburdening his secrets onto the young shop
owner and their conversation becomes increasingly intimate. There’s plenty of
ambiguity; is this simply a conversation between strangers or is there more to
this encounter than it seems? The actors do justice to the material, convincing
throughout, as we witness two characters sharing a moment of closeness. A minor
complaint was that the background music at times almost drowned out the speech,
but apart from this, it was an enjoyable half hour of drama.
Some Kind of Love
Story, the second, longer play includes nods to film noir as a detective
visits a prostitute with an involvement in a long-running case. Frustration and
passion rise to the surface in their self-destructive relationship as each
tries to find in the other the answers they are seeking. Tension crackled in
the theatre and frequent violent outbursts showcased fine acting again,
especially from Rea Dolan as Angela, the troubled prostitute with multiple
personalities. David Davis also does well as the worn down detective, despite
being too young for the role of a man who has been in the force for over 20
years. The play is admittedly a little incoherent at time and is certainly one
of Miller’s more confusing works. However the material is handled skilfully by
all involved and one could admire the craft, if not always grasp the totality
of the piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment