There's a kitchen sink, but that's not where the drama lies
Rattigan is the master, of course, of the well-made play, and this production of the Deep Blue Sea now at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket for a short season pays homage to that.
Set in a properly furnished, but somewhat seedy flat, dressed in period, well directed as it would always have been, it is marked by immensely sound acting, and a solid and engaging script.
The three acts (presented as two parts) just work, and the characters, all flawed but all, curiously, likeable develop in front of you.
Tamsin Greig (as the bolting wife) is just, well admirable, indeed I would suggest flawless (as an actor), but she is very ably supported, not the least by Selina Cadell, as her kindly but not-to-be-trusted landlady and Finbar Lynch as the ‘doctor’ – both apparently supporting parts only, but both key to the drama itself.
Other principals include Nicholas Farrell as her awkward, stumbling husband, and Hadley Fraser as her feckless lover and both are also believably flawed.
I won’t plot spoil, for anyone unfamiliar with what is in many ways a ‘modern’ classic, but there is real drama played out here and teasing hints at a Chekovian gun.
And yet, it is dramatic but not melodramatic.
A very honest revival and production of a fine, pre-modernist play.