Park Theatre – 12 July – 12 August. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Kevin Elyot’s final play is a time twisting tale of forbidden love and lost chances that will keep you enthralled from start to finish. Set in the sitting room of a Victorian villa, Twilight Song jumps between the 1960s and present day as the characters’ web of secret liaisons and shattered dreams are unravelled.
The play begins in the present, with cocky estate agent Skinner valuing the house for Barry and offering extra services. An offer which Barry is keen to take up, as his mother is out for the afternoon. Back in the 60s, Isabella has settled for marriage with boring and placid Basil, and is pregnant with their first child – Barry (although this doesn’t stop her necking gin whenever possible). With the help of Uncle Charles, they have bought the villa and have employed a gardener recommended by Charles’s good friend Harry. Over the evening, the older men’s true past relationship is revealed, although Harry hides behind the façade of his happy family life.
Director Anthony Banks allows Elyot’s bittersweet and funny script to shine, and the cast’s timing has the lightest touch – the beats and silent looks convey as much as the lines. There are many laughs, but the overall tone of the play is lonely regret, with the life of Barry being no happier than that of Charles and Harry before homosexuality was decriminalised. James Cotterill’s design is stunning in its simplicity, with the patio doors lit beautifully as the sun sets. The lighting and sound during set changes is inspired, with an initially puzzling, but ultimately satisfying character exit included.
Bryony Hannah impresses as Isabella, full of repressed passion as a newlywed, and full of bile as the bitter old lady in the present (no aging makeup thank goodness, just dim lighting and a croaky venomous voice). As Barry/Basil, the wonderful Paul Higgins brings a depressed Alan Bennett vibe to the character of Barry, completely changing when he gets the chance to fill his hypodermic. Adam Garcia is suave and sexy as Skinner, and dangerous and sexy as the gardener, making the most of this pivotal role (and he sings!). Philip Bretherton and Hugh Ross are fantastic as Harry and Charles, with Bretherton’s stiff upper lip denial cracking subtly and Ross bringing a lump to your throat as the more flamboyant but heartbroken Charles.
Twilight Song is a wonderful theatrical treat, a story beautifully told, sensitively directed and expertly performed.