York Theatre Royal – until 23 March 2019
Reviewed by Marcus Richardson
4****
Remains of the Day, a beloved and iconic novel has been adapted to the stage. At York Theatre Royal I got to experience the show that focuses on Mr. Stevens, a butler who works at Darlington Hall. A tale that could be described as the love story that never happened. Constantly switching between past and present we have a glimpse into life before World War II and after the war, the story hides important messages and subtly touches upon subjects regarding the war without being a war based play/novel.
The main character of Mr. Stevens is pretty much always present on stage, played by Steven Boxer. Constantly switching between the moment and his memories which is a task itself, Boxer does a tremendous job at giving the character a different ‘character’ in the different times; we see a cold butler only living to serve and although his persona is very British in the way he keeps his emotions hidden and is distant from both the audience and other characters we watch as he becomes friendlier and opens up to people and the audience. The Character of Ms Kenton, played by Niamh Cusack, is a breath of fresh air compared to Stevens, with a bubbly and lifting personality, the relationship between the two could be beautiful and loving, however he was never emotionally available towards anyone. Cusack does a lovely job of balancing the show out and creates both a playful and very reserved character at the same time, we as the audience want to fall in love with her, I would like to believe this is because we see the play through Steven’s eyes. One of the subtler points of the play is the character of Lord Darlington, a man who seems to wants peace and for Germany to be treated fairly, Miles Richardson creates a strong character on stage who is seen as a firm however yet kind master, it is only until later we learn how he views certain members in the German Government that we learn that maybe he isn’t as good as we want him to be. The whole cast does a good job of concealing and then revealing certain aspects that are hidden at first within the play. Mainly the acting style is naturalistic, however we do see actors change characters on stage, which is done incredibly well.
The stage, was simple yet manage to bring across the grandeur of Darlington Hall, with see through panels adorned with designs you would expect in a stately home. The design behind these were used very effectively with certain character being lit up behind them and them moving to show different places. Walking into the theatre we see a panel with a projection of rain, it seems this is another highlight on what is considered as British as a cup of tea, a running theme throughout the play is the idea of what being British is.
I found this play to be interesting and hidden with important messages, it’s not really a story one could consider to be happy, nor that devastating, it’s about what could’ve been, the cast did a good job at keeping me engaged for sure, I wasn’t bored, and for me sometimes material like this doesn’t flick my switch, this was not the case. I enjoyed the show, and I would recommend this as it’s something to get engaged in.