After the Dance

It was a pleasure to have once again visited with CTG and, this time, enjoy their production of Terence Rattigan’s inter-war drama ‘After the Dance’. The play was written on the eve of the Second World War and suffered as a result. Indeed, with audiences desperate for lighter entertainment,  ‘After the Dance’ closed after only 60 performances and just three weeks before hostilities began.

The play is set in the chic Mayfair drawing room of David and Joan Scott-Fowler, a frivolous and party-going couple who always maintained they had married for fun rather than love. With a circle of aging friends, this somewhat absurd group chose to live in the past whilst desperately trying to retain their youth. It is the appearance of Helen Banner, a self-righteous young woman who falls in love with David, which causes lives to suddenly change…  

Ben Clare is to be congratulated as Director and for appointing such an exceptional cast. With such a fabulous script to follow it was great to see actors so comfortable in their roles, never rushing lines or losing a poignant moment. Indeed, the amount of silence and personal reflection was exceptionally well-handled and made the drama incredibly absorbing. These non-spoken qualities should not be underestimated as the impact of so many lines would have suffered without such acting.  With such an intimate space, the audience was quickly enveloped in the action. The simple use of a ticking clock, as background sound in large parts of act two, was very effective. The question left in my mind was ‘why isn’t ‘After the Dance a more widely produced play?’ The only answer I could muster was that it demands a very strong cast to succeed. Overall, this was a terrific production!

Congratulations to everyone at CTG who was involved with ‘After the Dance’. This was a thoroughly absorbing piece of drama that was delivered by an exceptionally strong cast. Good luck with ENRON and I look forward to visiting again.

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