The Welkin

The Welkin is a new play premiered at the National Theatre little more than a year ago and described variously as a courtroom drama, a female Twelve Angry Men, and owing a generous nod to the works of Caryl Churchill, another writer favoured by Touch theatre for her provision of strong female roles.  It is set in rural Suffolk, but could be anywhere.  However, the date of 1759 is immovable given the text’s references to the arrival of Halley’s Comet.  Its subject matter is gritty but Touch is not a company that shies away from challenging material and this earthy and uncompromising script was given a good airing and forced us to recognise the political message that even now, over 250 years later, the treatment of women and the universal acceptance of women’s rights still has some way to go.

The cabaret-style tables of the auditorium gave a cosy atmosphere, echoed by the gentle strains of Satie’s Gnossienne No. 1 but rapidly dispelled as the curtain rose on a depressingly dark and claustrophobic stage.  The outline of a fireplace could just be seen at stage left but otherwise the setting was neutral blacks with doors and windows imagined just off stage in the wings.  Down right, and visible before the tabs opened, we saw a washing line, stool and butter churn used very briefly as the home of Elizabeth Luke but also representing the domestic backgrounds of the women called for ‘jury duty’.  Later scenes threw more light onto the stage and we could see a little more clearly the courthouse room used for the women’s deliberations, but throughout there was a gloominess evocative of the days before electric lighting was invented and completely true to a script that states they are to be denied fire or candle.

The technical requirements of this production combined lighting and sound with projection and we saw variety in each.  The dimness already mentioned was broken during The Empanelling with pools in which the actors had to ‘find their light’.   This overhead provision meant that faces were not always clearly visible especially when the brim of a hat or bonnet cast further shadow.  There were neat lighting effects as with the burning of the braid of hair, the firelight and the explosion, which were helped by smoke and the sound effects.  These also included crowd noises ‘outside’ that had to rise and fall in volume dependent on the opening and closing of the ‘window’; all carefully timed.  The Justice’s authoritarian voice from off stage had a distant quality that made me think initially it was recorded, but no, it was reverb giving the impression of its coming from a cavernous chamber.  The images projected on the back screen varied from peaceful billowing fabric to threatening crows (making me think of the soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar), to appropriate scales of justice and culminating in the shocking anachronistic portraits of men we recognised as the evil still around to this day.

The chunky table and sturdy chairs were believably in period and well selected as were other props and set dressing.  The aforementioned butter churn may have been made especially (if not, congratulations on locating it) as perhaps was the large wooden bucket.  The fireplace had irons and bellows and was surmounted by candles.  The Doctor carried an authentic looking bag and his gynaecological instrument was created to look barbaric in the extreme.  There was interesting use of fabrics to represent not only the blood of Poppy’s miscarriage but also, did I detect, black and grey nets taking the part of the soot and mess caused by the explosion as the bird came down the chimney - or was it the crow itself?  

Colours in the 18th century started to become brighter with the advent of chemically produced tones and it was pleasing to see the palette selected for the costumes.  For the most part muted browns, blues and greens were punctuated by splashes of bright red and orange and all the Matrons wore head coverings of some sort suiting their status; the variety of designs allowed each her own character.  Only Charlotte Cary as a visitor to the rural parish was dressed in a more ‘towny’ way, evidenced by her fancier dress and smarter hat.  The shoes blended in without becoming obvious and the outfits and headgear of the men were appropriate with attention given to the shoe buckles.  Only two of the actors had a change of costume/character and with plenty of time for each there can have been no panic off stage in the wardrobe department.  Of course, it would be unreasonable to expect the costumes to be messed convincingly as a result of the explosion and I know it is picky to note that the soot smudges of the make up looked disappointingly deliberate and not as realistic as if the ladies had really been in the firing line of a chimney fall.  

The undoubted success of this production lay in no small degree with the casting of the two female leads who both gave outstanding performances; one of whom has been seen with Gweek Players before and the other, to my knowledge, new to both groups and bringing a great deal of experience with her.  The two roles of Poppy and Elizabeth demanded exacting displays of a range of emotions, reactions and responses and were handled with a passion that gripped the audience and showed evidence of knowledge of how important changes in pitch and tempo are in conveying a believable character and mood.  It is brave to be uncompromisingly unattractive on stage but without that conviction and honesty the integrity of the whole venture falls apart.  Full marks to Poppy, therefore, for being so truthfully unappealing. The play, with its harrowing themes, nevertheless includes some moments of levity to lighten the mood and whilst these were enjoyable as a relief I felt that some of the performers were allowed to get away with, or maybe encouraged, to be a bit pantomimic in facially expressing their shock/horror at what they were witnessing.  Surprisingly this was not confined to the less experienced members of the cast but I expect wouldn’t have registered with the majority of the audience who’d be intent on the main action.  The graphic episodes of ‘the milking’ and ‘the urinating’ were handled with great sensitivity and lucidity.  And the medical examination, which might have been quite horrific, was screened by the Matrons and seemed less gruesome than the fact of it by the Doctor’s far from brutal appearance of light-hearted flippancy.  I am not an expert on accents so will say little about the authenticity of Suffolk/Norfolk/Scottish/Irish/Cornish dialects; suffice to say I was not distracted by thinking any was completely inaccurate nor did I register whether they dipped or flagged - only acknowledging that the accent expert Poppy’s sounded perfect!  I’m sure she’d have helped the others.  As each of the Matrons entertained us by revealing more of her personal life we became increasingly educated about women’s existence in 1759 as well as recognising similarities between their concerns, opinions and how they were treated, and our own in the 21st century.  No doubt having a Historical Consultant on hand to provide vital insights into many of the details that informed this production added to its overall appreciation by the audiences who came to see it.  I believe the actors will have found being involved in the play exciting and stimulating and that both companies were stretched in a way that should inspire and energise them for the future. 

 

 

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