The Browning Version

• Date
• 22nd November 2015
• Society
• Hoghton Players
• Type of Production
• Play
• Director
• Veronica Roper

Terence Rattigan's famous play is a staple of the theatrical repertoire, and with good reason. It is a quietly involving little drama which gets under the skin, wasting no time in exploring aspects of the human condition which are as relevant today as they were in 1940s. This was my first visit to The Hoghton Players and such was their confidently masterful treatment of this absorbing play, it is unlikely to be my last. Sir Terence Rattigan is a playwright who has had had something of a renaissance in recent years, his plays, once so highly praised, fell out of favour for decades and were considered out of date, and - that most damning of artistic insults - 'middlebrow'. Unfairly dismissed by the 'Angry Young Men' and 'Kitchen Sink' schools who followed immediately in his wake, Rattigan has had to wait for quite a while for his reputation to see something of a fillip. For many years, the Rattigan flame has been kept alight by amateur productions and fortunately, the time seems to be ripe for a re-evaluation of his work: where better than to start with perhaps his most famous one act play, 'The Browning Version'.

The production was staged in the round in the intimate setting of Hoghton Village Hall with the audience surrounding the players, creating an immediacy and involvement with the drama which worked very well. The performance space was used intelligently and whereas often, productions 'in the round' can throw up more problems than benefits for the audience, the staging here was cleverly done, bringing the audience in to the heart of the drama rather than obscuring performers or hindering the audience's ability to fully access the events on stage. Thoughtful direction, clear sight lines and an understanding of how the blocking and positioning on set could both bring out the best from the performers and enable the audience to fully engage with the piece made for a flawless interpretation of the play. The set was well dressed, props thoughtfully chosen, lighting was unobtrusive and naturalistic, the accompanying music was sympathetic to the piece and costumes were appropriate to the period setting. The atmosphere generally was one which had been carefully considered to fully illuminate the drama and the whole team are to be applauded for their efforts. The director(s) cannot be praised highly enough for putting such thought and effort into the staging of the play and had also clearly worked closely in rehearsal with the cast to produce a thoughtful and intelligent illumination of the text.

Performances were of a high standard across the board with the seven-strong cast list being made up of a mixture of seasoned performers and relative newcomers to the boards: this mix worked well, with the 'old hands' (if you'll pardon the expression!) helping the new boys along. Mikey Coleman as young Taplow of the Lower Fifth gave a carefully measured performance which impressed throughout the evening. Strolling onto an empty stage to set the scene is never easy - particularly when the audience is only inches away from you on every side - and Mikey made a strong impression throughout the evening in what was a mature and assured performance: here was an actor one could feel comfortable in the presence of and whose easy finesse was a pleasure to see. Frank Hunter was played by one of our newcomers to the stage, Steven Boult, in what was also a confident performance. Mr Hunter is of course the embodiment of the 'new broom' sweeping through both the nation in general in the later 1940s and in particular, the public school where the action of the drama takes place and as such, Steven was an inspired choice as the younger, less hide-bound science master. Of course, the stark difference in approach to teaching and the world in general which Frank Hunter and Andrew Crocker-Harris embody is one of the additional frissons the play has to offer in its examination of the human condition and Steven brought an added dimension to the role in this respect.

Sliding onto the stage with all the wily self-assuredness of a cobra sizing up its next meal, Bernadette Nuttall was a joy as Mrs Crocker-Harris, resplendent in a beautifully tailored period outfit, exuding the easy charm of the heartless destroyer of men the role demands. Here was a performance of style and grace, easily the most fantastically deadly performance I've seen on stage this year and Bernadette didn't miss a trick all night: simply superb. Surpassing even this powerhouse performance however was Paul Mason's Andrew Crocker-Harris. Here was a masterclass in exactly how to keep an audience in the palm of your hand all evening; how to convey the very essence and embodiment of a character with every word and with every carefully honed nuance of body language. Simply put, Paul became Andrew Crocker-Harris. A difficult character to love or even admire and respect, Paul made 'the Crock' into a real human being; a fully rounded character whom the audience could enjoy spending time with and, by the time the play reached its quietly baleful climax, even sympathise with. This was another superb performance which, in conjunction with the rest of the excellent cast, made for a memorable reading of the play. Adam Stauder made a strong impression as Dr Frobisher, the headmaster who thinks he has the measure of the situation and the Crock's replacement (Mr Gilbert) was played by another newcomer to the stage, Paul Berentzen with a nicely judged air of breezy optimism. Mrs Gilbert was played with a nice edge of bouncy irritability by Rebecca Cohen, leaving the audience in no doubt that here is a relationship which is as doomed as the Crocker-Harris marriage: it is tempting to see the Gilberts and their irritatingly cloying whimsy as a forecast of a couple who may well end up every bit as bitter and resentful as Mr and Mrs Crocker-Harris, their marriage being splintered with the malignity of disappointments which have festered, blackening the souls of both man and wife.

The act of kindness which gives the play its title - Taplow's gift to the Crock on his retirement from the school - sparks an excoriating examination of the human condition and exposes the lies, deceptions and self delusions which we all of us employ to keep us afloat on the turbulent high seas of everyday life. So much is there to consider and chew over in this drama, it ill behoves me to attempt to do so here for fear of exposing my ignorance or giving the game away for anyone who has yet to see the play. That said, it is unlikely that you will have the good fortune to see a production as good as the one I was lucky enough to see however. The only flaw in the evening worth commenting upon was the interminable raffle at the interval: it only needed Wagner to set it to music and it would have made for a full weekend's entertainment at Covent Garden!

It always cheers the soul of an often jaded NODA rep to see something worth doing done very well and The Hoghton Players didn't disappoint on either account. I wish you well with your future endeavours and implore you to keep on producing work of this high quality. If your next production is even half as good as this one, the good people of Hoghton (and surrounding districts) should be booking their tickets already..