“All jealous women are mad”
Stephen Unwin’s run of home-grown productions for the Rose Kingston, where he
is also Artistic Director, continues with this revival of Arthur W Pinero’s
Victorian melodrama, The Second Mrs Tanqueray. Respectable member of society and
widower Aubrey Tanqueray scandalises his friends when he suddenly announces he
is to be married again. The issue is that his intended, Mrs Paula Jarman, is a
woman with a past - a sexual one at that - but his determination to go through
with the marriage leaves Paula feeling increasingly alienated from her new
world and particularly from her new stepdaughter. And try as they might to
overcome their differences, secrets from the past threaten to overwhelm
everyone.
Though meant to be something of a mismatched couple, James Wilby and Laura
Michelle Kelly struggle to convince that there could have been anything between
Aubrey and Paula, both performances missing some psychological depth to point
us to the truth of their characters. Wilby does mannered Victoriana extremely
well but seldom gives a sense of real man behind the bluff exterior, and
Kelly’s whole air a little too girlish, rarely feeling born of the frustrations
of a life already lived though the second half does see her start to darken the
tone effectively.
Paul Wills’ design is a rather inventive use of the space, going some way to
addressing the intimacy-sapping cavernous nature of the stage at the Rose,
though the use of props does expose some of the emptiness. Mark Bouman’s lavish
costumes look a treat, against the sober tones of the production, Paula’s vivid
emerald dress - and house guest Mabel’s golden one too as we come to see -
suggest birds of paradise trapped in a cage. It is hard to gauge what effect
Corin Buckeridge’s music for the interludes is meant to have though, an oddly
diverse collection of shards that weirdly skew the mood.
There’s interesting work amongst the supporting cast: Jessica Turner’s
kind-hearted Mrs Cortelyon and Joseph Alessi’s Cayley Drummle standing out
particularly but crucially, Rona Morison’s Ellean is cut from the same
undemonstrative mould as her (stage) father meaning what should be a build-up
of emotional undercurrents and dramatic tension towards the climactic finale
ends up falling rather flat. Unwin’s production needs to be coiled much tighter
to pack the punch that is needed, but ultimately could do with being rehoused
in a better suited, less unforgiving space that allows for intimacy.
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes (with interval)
Programme cost: £3.50
Booking until 27th October
Labels: Adam Jackson-Smith, Daniel Goode, David Mara, David Whitworth, James Wilby, Jessica Turner, Joseph Alessi, Laura Michelle Kelly, Pinero, Rona Morison, Sally Tatum