September Tide

TAB is not shy at attempting challenging pieces and this Daphne du Maurier’s play is such a piece.  It tells of the intermingling of family relationships – particularly amongst the mother, daughter and son-in-law.  Such a triangular love story is destined for disaster but the inevitability of the result is reached through some moving and dramatic scenes.  As always, the set was immaculate for the purpose here with appropriate doors and furniture, which is no mean achievement on such a tiny stage.   The staging was carefully worked out and the best use was made of the space available.  The players, without exception, were splendidly drawn and their interactions beautifully illustrated.  Kieran Lowe as the son-in-law, Evan had that haunting, distant look about him which was quite eerie at times but established the character to be what he was.  Vicky Wright as Cherry, the rather naïve wife and innocent party through all of this, gave a nonchalant performance with real confidence being shown throughout.  Stella, the love struck mother-in-law, played by Joanna Vango, showed real emotion displaying reluctance one minute and willing submission the next.  Mrs Tucket, the housekeeper played by Helen Bence gave a convincing performance with an excellent accent.  At times I had difficulty catching her dialogue and a couple of ‘stage whispers’ left me wondering. Roger Saddington, as the long suffering companion of Stella, showed that air of sophistication but again, his dialogue, particularly in the first scene, was not all that clear.  By complete contrast, helped by the type of character, Liam Mayle as the injured son, Jimmy, had wonderful diction and delivery.  I think the problem may have been that all of his speech was downstage of the pros arch pelmet, whereas some of the earlier dialogue was lost because of where the payers were placed upstage.  I would have loved the final moments to be slightly more lingering, leaving the audience with an air of hope rather than finality.  The costumes, lighting and sound were all complimentary to the piece and all combined to make this a most enjoyable experience.  

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