84, Charing Cross Road

This was an interesting play in that most of the script consisted of the letters exchanged between the characters presented as monologues. Set in two locations, New York and London, the text of the letters is brought to life by the cast. 

The two leads were outstanding, and very convincingly brought their characters to life. Their delivery was so natural that by the end, I felt that I knew the characters as people and almost forgot that it was a scripted piece. 

The director had woven together a dynamic piece of theatre capturing the nuances of this unusual style of play. She had worked with the two leads to inhabit their characters and to produce a natural piece of drama. All the cast had clear characters which blended very well and the actors playing the smaller roles supported the principals very well. I was very moved by the handling of Frank’s gradual decline and Helene’s eventual visit to the shop after he had died which had been handled with honesty and sensitivity.

This was an excellent production which I enjoyed immensely!

The split box set was well designed with a small dividing wall at the back between the two sides. Helene’s apartment was comfortable with furniture reminiscent of the time-period in the USA. The book shop at 84 Charing Cross Road was beautifully designed and constructed to include a wall full of books, some painted and others real and in tall bookshelves. The lighting plot was well designed with subtle changes to distinguish between day and evening and the split stage was cleverly lit  so that our attention was drawn to the where the dialogue was taking place.

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