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A Reckoning
by Lizzie Loveridge
|
Have any of you had any psychological therapy of any kind? . . . not one person raises their hand . . . . there were over a hundred people in that room. Which I mean if they were all telling the truth, the San Francisco psychiatric community would have been facing a serious drought.
-- Spencer |
Set in San Francisco, successful architect and widower, Spencer (Jonathan Pryce) has a visitor on what would have been his twenty-ninth wedding anniversary, from his daughter Irene (Flora Montgomery). Irene, who is in her late twenties, has not been in touch with her father for eight months. Irene has been in therapy and has come to confront her father with scenes she recalls from her childhood. I don't want to detail all of the plot but Spencer's refusal to discuss or confess leads to litigation. There is a final scene between father and daughter, months after the conclusion of the court case, where Spencer offers an explanation of what he thinks might have happened.
The play is formed by a series of encounters between the two, in his apartment, his office, at the law firm, outside the courthouse and finally in her house. In each there is confrontation, hurt and anger. His for the accusation, hers for not being believed or even listened to by her father. Like a juror, I kept an open mind until the end of the play. It seemed unlikely that it was true, but what is worse than being a victim of sexual abuse? Being a victim and not being believed? Or, indeed, being falsely accused of abusing your own child? How would you react if you were innocent? Would you refuse to discuss it to help your child? Because whatever else has happened, the daughter believes it and needs help.
What A Reckoning does is to show the price paid by families for success. While Spencer is building his client base, his family is collapsing. It also shows us how, when at the height of the case, Spencer's friends and business melt away only to return - notoriety being good for business. Above all, like Charles Dickens' Bleak House, it illustrates that when lawyers get involved in family matters, everyone will lose out.
Jonathan Pryce gives a measured performance as the father. Irene is out of her league as Spencer illustrates when he notices that her lawyers' offices contravene the guidelines for buildings in the seismic fault area of California and sets his own litigation in process. In this scene Pryce allows us to see the high-powered architect, razor sharp and pro-active. There are dissembling moments too, why did he hide the glass and bottle of wine, in case he were judged for drinking alone? I liked her irritation and his embarrassment when she objects to being called her childhood nickname of Reenie. Flora Montgomery conveys the brittle and highly strung daughter, almost always on the verge of tears and obviously in distress.
There are amazing changes of set, using a turntable. A black mesh drop screen divides the cosy sitting room from views of the lights of the city. There is the severely minimalist architects' office and the lawyers modern meeting room. A Reckoning looks as if it has been architect designed even down to Spencer's clothes by Paul Smith.
Spencer's explanation for what Irene remembers is rather late in the day and this flaws the plot. But there is much to muse over and recommend in A Reckoning from the promising Wayne Moore.
| A Reckoning
Written by Wayne Moore Directed by Richard Seyd With: Jonathan Pryce and Flora Montgomery Designer: Laura Hopkins Lighting Designer: Paule Constable Sound: John Leonard Running time: Eighty five minutes with no interval Box Office: 020 7478 0100 Booking to 3rd May 2003 Website: www.sohotheatre.com Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 2nd April 2003 Performance at the Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London W1 (Tube Station: Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Road) |
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