The Day After The Fair

Seated in this tiny theatre, so close to the set and the action, it was entirely possible to lose oneself in the perfectly created Victorian drawing room, with its warm colouring and endless authentic details, which not only filled the stage, but continued up the stairs and off; props were used naturally and effortlessly, adding to the sense of time and place;  sensitive lighting of the practical window and of the oil-lamp enhanced the atmosphere, which was still further created by the intelligent use of sound to add texture, particularly of the fairground and the wedding party, where the sound of jollity was the foil to the horror of the revelation regarding the letters.

The period costume was extremely good throughout, with thoughtful touches, such as Lettie’s cameo brooch and Anna’s fresh and pretty wedding dress, with its embroidered flowers to echo her rural background; Sarah was dressed in a homely style befitting a housemaid; Arthur was styled as a no-nonsense, practical man of business, and Charles as an up-and-coming barrister ‘not without prospects’.  Accent was used to good effect in differentiating the social classes.

Emotional truth was powerful in this production, with strong characterisation on all sides:  Letty was calm, kindly and very proper, so that we laughed at her horror at the prospect of receiving Charles unchaperoned; Arthur was affable, drank heavily and was clearly unsuitable as Edith’s husband; housemaid Sarah was efficient, said little, but let us know she saw all;  Anna was played perfectly as a very appealing, young and naive country girl; her excitement at the writing and receiving of the letters, and her total belief in Charles’ affection for her was genuine and affecting, so that although we may have sensed impending doom, Anna was blissfully unaware and we were happy for her; both Anna and Edith expertly demonstrated complex emotional shifts as they realised that they were both in love with Charles, with hope and despair on both sides; Edith’s brutal explanation that Charles loves Anna only because of the letters, and Anna’s desperation in pleading with her not to tell Charles the truth, were quite harrowing; Charles too, experiences an emotional shock, very well-portrayed in his change of demeanour as he understands the truth, to realise that his new bride, Anna, is incapable of the refined expression of love which he has attributed to her; in her performance we see clearly how Edith both nourishes and poisons the love of Charles and Anna.  

In true Hardy fashion, no-one’s happiness can be unalloyed, yet this production was directed with a light touch which finds humour to sweeten the bitter pill of Hardy’s narrative.  An excellent performance.

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