Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – until 14 April 2018. Reviewed by Heather Chalkley
4****
The shock of the opening scene set the pace and tone for the rest of the play. The combination of a clever set, hearing the loud voices in his head and the performance of Dean Smith as Joe Herbert, immediately locked you into his character. His loneliness and sense of being lost was tangible and you knew he was going to jump in front of the train. All that without him speaking a word! Followed swiftly by the rescue of Joe by Sandor Wincanton, played by Joe Eyre. The scene completed dramatically with the dark and cold announcement that Joe Herbert’s life now belonged to Sandor. He had become the Gallowglass or ‘chieftains slave’. The change in demeanor of Joe Eyre’s Sandor was swift and the acceptance by Dean Smith’s Joe Herbert instant.
The story is about a kidnapper that fell in love with his victim and wants to recreate the perceived love they shared, including the crime! You realise that Ruth Rendell has written into the storyline hostage victims on more than one level: Joe Herbert as The Gallowglass; the wife, Nina Abbott, is the princess in her fortress; Sandor Wincanton trapped in his own delusion of love. It would take a sharp mind to keep up with the pace of the piece and solve the plot line before it unfolds.
Joe Eyre portrayed a controlling, maniacal character, using an unhinged laugh and cut throat razor to full effect. His character Sandor was a frightening caricature in direct contrast to a believable, likeable Joe Herbert by Dean Smith. Despite being written in 1990 the storyline has a relevance today, mirroring the rise in serious crime committed by young males suffering issues with mental health. It opens the debate anew.
Florence Cady gave her character Nina Abbott, the grace and confidence of a wealthy woman who will never want for anything. She added a realistic vulnerability and desperation, searching for a way out of the hell she was living, using her sexuality as a means of escape in the way she always had.
Humour was injected into the play by two characters. Firstly Tilley, played by Rachael Hart with a keen sense of survival, hard, brash and who loved her brother Joe. One of my favorite moments was the dynamic scene where Sandor is holding the cut throat to Nina’s neck and Tilley is asking for the phone number, so she can make sure they get their money before Sandor commits murder! More humour comes from Karen Drury’s Diane, the well healed mother of Sandor. Her selfishness and inappropriate behaviour is both shocking and funny, delivered with spot on timing.
Paul Garnett is the lonely father, trying to do the best by his daughter. A solid believable, if not slightly mysterious character, played by Paul Opacic. His interaction with Eva Sayer as his daughter Jessica was a well balanced performance. I was impressed with Eva Sayer’s portrayal of Jessica, forgetting that she was not actually an 11 year old school girl!
Michael Lunney’s direction and design, cleverly used projected backdrops of real scenes, alongside spot on sound effects, that together built the tension and atmosphere. Scrims enabled him to create more than one scene on stage at a time, sustaining a fast paced tempo.
I believe Ruth Rendell would be pleased with the twist in the final scene, delivering a macabre end to a suspense filled, desperately gloomy storyline.