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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewThe Country Girl
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Life with him is three quarters the avoidance of painful scenes. He's taught me to be a fish, to swim in any direction, including up, down, and sideways. — Georgie Elgin
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Martin Shaw as Frank and Jenny Seagrove as Georgie (Photo: Keith Pattison) |
Some returns are never a good idea and try as I might I found Jenny Seagrove's performance on stage so turgidly controlled as to be merely depressing. I am a huge fan of director Rufus Norris' work but Clifford Odets' 1950 play just doesn't row my boat in this production.
Mark Letheren does his best with the young enthusiastic director Bernie Dodd who has seen Frank deliver great performances and who, against the odds, wants him to step up to the mark in his new play touring in Boston before it hits New York. I liked Nicholas Day's cameo as Phil Cook, the producer who needs to be convinced that Dodd's decision is not a dud one.
I couldn't believe in any of the relationships and certainly not in the implied romantic frisson there is meant to be between Bernie Dodds and Georgie Eliot. The height difference doesn't help the sexual chemistry with Letheren being considerably shorter than Seagrove. If you don't care about the characters, if you can't identify with them, then the point to Odets' play is lost. Shaw plays the irascible and unreasonable drunk passably well, at least giving us a reason for believing why Georgia may be a victim of domestic violence and abuse.
Initially the set seems finely detailed with the paraphernalia of backstage adornment but once the scenes change and other partial pieces of wall and doors start to be clunkily dropped into place, the actors are not helped by any suspension of disbelief. I cannot see this running until February next year.
For Elyse Sommer's review of this play in New York with Morgan Freeman go here
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| The Country Girl
Written by Clifford Odets Directed by Rufus Norris Starring: Jenny Seagrove, Martin Shaw. Mark Letrheren With: Nicholas Day, Peter Harding, Luke Shaw, Thomasin Rand, Tom Cornish Set Design: Scott Pask Costume Design: Jonathan Lipman Lighting: Mark Howett Sound: Ben Harrison Running time: Two hours 30 minutes with one interval Box Office: 0844 412 4658 Booking to 26 February 2011 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 13th October 2010 performance at The Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1V 7HD (Tube: Piccadilly Circus) |
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