| A warm hearted and clearly told story with lashings of feel good factor |
At Hijinx Theatre |
| Hijinx Theatre- Seize the Day , The Riverfront Newport , May 19, 2006 |
Seize the day is, of course an exhortation to us all. If we follow Rose’s example we may find fulfilment but always with a touch of exciting uncertainty. This is Rose’s story but it’s also Sarah’s story, the actress who gives Rose such a compelling and moving performance. Written with great sympathy and understanding by Glenys Evans who has incorporated Sarah’s extraordinary enthusiasm and love of Shakespeare into the plot of her warm hearted and clearly told story. Although the play is set ‘below stairs’ in the early 1930’s home of Lord and Lady Webb, and whilst not a totally ‘rags to riches’ tale, it is the universal story of someone rising from ‘the gutter’ who finds herself and moves on; to the next stage of her extraordinary life to the tune of a gypsy violin. Rose’s real name is Mary, Rose being the generic name for the servant on the lowest rung of the ladder in the Webb household. Mary is still very young but as the oldest member of a very large and impoverished family, she has left home to earn money to help them survive. Entering into service was the obvious way to go. At this period in time many young girls left Wales to go into service in places like Liverpool, Bristol and London. She arrives at the house very tidily dressed, despite her poverty but is soon transformed into a nonentity with her dark housemaid’s uniform and her identity put on the shelf as she is instructed to respond to the household label, Rose. She is taken under the iron hand of housekeeper Mrs. Chambers, who we later discover does have a soft spot. Mrs Chambers is given a totally embracing performance by the very versatile Cardiff based actress Clêr Stevens. Her ability to immerse herself into so many varying roles has meant that she has recently been seen working for almost every company touring throughout Wales. But she makes it clear that Rose must very definitely know and keep her place. Rose proves to be a good worker but inevitably something occurs to upset the apple cart! Miss Julie, the spoilt brat, who thinks far too highly of herself, daughter of the house has set her cap at her handsome young cousin and enlists Rose, against all the rules of the house, to help her in her plan to entrap him. Zoe Davies strikes just the perfect note in her flapper dress and long pearl necklace. At a dinner to celebrate the visit of the relatives Miss Julie is going to read an extract from Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, much to the disgust of her philistine father Lord Webb. Rose’s role in all this is simply to hold up a very large volume of the Complete Works whilst Miss Julie learns the lines. Rose can neither read nor write but she is so taken by the romance and poetry of Shakespeare’s verse that she is quickly able to remember it all by heart. Miss Julie then calls in Harry, her father’s handsome young groom, a totally captivating performance by the truly romantic Romany of Irish Jack Reynolds, to be a stand-in Romeo. And… If you want lashings of feel good factor check out www.hijinx.org.uk to find a venue where you can catch this production. Hijinx has always been a pioneering and visionary organisation, over the past twenty-five years they have been taking theatre to venues that many other theatre companies can’t reach. They have introduced Odyssey Theatre, a project set up for adults of all ages and abilities, including people with learning disabilities; who share a desire and commitment to performance. This play, as well as appealing to a very wide audience is also aimed not only at people new to theatre but also to people with learning difficulties. This play takes another step forward and introduces Sarah Gordy an extraordinary professional actress who copes magnificently with her own disability. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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