Heaven on Earth

I always enjoying seeing new work, so I was excited to make my first visit to the Bear Pit in Stratford, as Second Thoughts presented an unusual and thought provoking new play about the designer and poet William Morris and his family, a topic with which I wasn’t particularly familiar. 

Noel Dollimore’s play is centred on two relationship triangles, exploring the disintegration of Morris’s marriage in the wake of his wife Jane’s relationship with the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and contrasting this with a snapshot of his daughter May’s life with her companion Mary Lobb and a visiting shell-shocked soldier.  The play, well directed by Ian McLean, unfolded with clear storytelling as the two time periods (Morris in the 1870s and May during the Great War) were quickly established.

As the play began, we were pitched into the action with Morris’s marriage already on the rocks.  There was little to indicate what must have been earlier happiness between the couple, and I did hanker for some indication of what it was that had brought them together, and the happier times they must have enjoyed.  Having said that, even the lovers Jane and Rossetti didn’t seem particularly happy together, as the difficulties that the love triangle presented for all three characters weighed them down.  On top of this, we find that Morris’s business is in trouble, with Rossetti again presenting an obstacle to resolving his looming financial problems.  This all led to a rather downbeat feel to the scenes featuring these characters, occasionally leavened by the wry observations of Morris’s friend and business partner Edward Burne-Jones.

The tone of the scenes focusing on May Morris was much lighter, for the most part, despite these events taking place in the shadow of the Great War.  This part of the story explored May’s ambiguous relationship with her companion Mary Lobb, a plain-speaking rustic (‘She’s from Cornwall’, explained May helpfully.)  Into their spinsterish life enters Walter, a soldier on leave from the Western front, who develops a bond with May whilst he works on a memorial for her recently departed mother.  A tender, understated semi-romance develops between the pair, providing a contrast to the fraught relationship of Jane and Rossetti.  But as May and Walter’s talk turns to the potential of a life after the war, we see the storm clouds gathering.

The play was generally domestic in feel, with occasional references to the idealism and politics of the characters and the wider context in which the play is set.  But this generally felt like a chamber piece, focusing on the problems, hopes and dreams of the characters rather than the larger canvas.  Dollimore’s script features some nice poetic flourishes, alongside some slightly clunky moments of exposition.  Perhaps these could be ironed out a bit if the author develops his script further?  The actors delivered the lines clearly and with good characterisation, despite the odd stumble.  For even better results, perhaps a little more light and shade could have been introduced at times, a few more pauses to let key moments breathe? 

Nick Bate portrayed a hangdog William Morris, buckling under the pressure of threats to his business and failing marriage.  This was a rather gentler interpretation than the script seemed to suggest – weary and exasperated rather than the unpleasantness for which other characters regularly admonished him.  But Morris’s sadness and desperation at the failure of his marriage and business were well portrayed.  David Hope turned in an engaging performance as Edward Burne-Jones, Morris’s wise owl sidekick, always ready with a piece of sage advice.  Their relationship, like May and Mary’s, was natural and warm.  There was little happiness for Jane Morris (confidently played by Stacey Warner), struggling to find joy in any of her relationships and bitterly haranguing her daughter from beyond the grave, even as she commissioned a stone in her memory.  Alongside her was Pranav Agnihotri’s Rossetti, who clearly brought out the character’s self-centred nature, only ever thinking of his art and his desire for Jane.

Rachel Alcock invested May Morris with a sunny disposition – her positivity standing in stark contrast to her mother’s life of angst.  Entranced by her father’s legacy, May provided the necessary link between the two time periods.  Relishing the role of her companion Mary Lobb, Gill Hines made the most of opportunities for humour in her congenial relationship with May.  Barry Purchase-Rathbone completed their triad as the reserved soldier Walter – he was particularly good in the scene where Walter gets ‘the shakes’ – evoking a real feeling of crisis and desperation in the character.

Presented in the round, the space was split into three acting areas – Morris’s office, the kichen at Kelmscott, and a central section serving as Rossetti’s studio and various outdoor locations.  This worked well in terms of defining the location and time period for each scene, although it did mean the actors’ space was restricted.  I felt that some of the scenes might have benefitted from a little more physical space in which to breathe. 

Costumes, furniture and props were good and in keeping with each period – would have been nice to have seen some tea in the cups, though!  Lighting was well designed, with a distinct focus on the part of the stage in use in each scene, and sound effects – such as the Morris children playing in the distance and the sounds of war – judiciously used.  Scene changes were covered by nicely chosen music, appropriate for the historical setting.  All were effectively delivered by the technical team.

The play ends with Morris and Burne-Jones raising a final toast to a brighter future, ironically juxtaposed with soldier Walter heading off to his death in the trenches forty years later.  An effective and thoughtful contrast.  The final words are left to Morris himself, as Walter speaks a poem in an echo of those wartime greats such as Sassoon and Owen.  

Well done to all at Second Thoughts for presenting an intriguing and entertaining original play.  My thanks for the very warm welcome, and I hope to see you next time for another new play in October!

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