The Stables Theatre and Arts Centre
The Bourne, Hastings
East Sussex TN34 3BD
01424 423221
The Bourne, Hastings
East Sussex TN34 3BD
01424 423221
Travels With My Aunt
By Giles Havergal
A Stables Theatre production
Directed by Nicky Harris
25 September–3 October 2009
Reviewed by Penny Jeffries
By Giles Havergal
A Stables Theatre production
Directed by Nicky Harris
25 September–3 October 2009
Reviewed by Penny Jeffries
Nicky Harris directs and stars as the titular aunt in the tale of the rebirth of Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager from Dorking. Exotic Aunt Augusta appears at Henry’s mother’s funeral and jolts Henry from his dahlia-fancying half life to an unexpected destination. Along the way Henry learns the truth about his parentage, smuggles contraband unaware and gets tangled up with police of various nations, shady characters and spies galore.
There are many challenges to staging this play, which are for the most part overcome. Henry’s part is split over two actors; one participating in the scenes and the other narrating. The story is entirely told in flashback and by the reminiscences of Augusta. There are frequent changes of scene and character, and the witty writing, like so much Greene, is suffused with sadness.
High praise must go to Nicky Harris, who stepped on to the stage two weeks before the first night. Her Aunt Augusta was domineering and intriguing by turns, her refusal to explain much directly to Henry adding to the allure of her stories, which were acted out by the supporting cast. Peter Barr’s narrator, a languid gentleman in a Panama hat, skilfully stitched the story together for an audience often as bewildered as Henry, played by Greg Slaughter, in his Stables début. Their characters appear widely different at the start but gradually converge, with quite a wrench. Henry has more life, but much less morality. Nothing in Greeneland is ever unequivocal.
There is much in this play that is funny. Sporting a memorable black beard, Dave Hooper appeared as Wordsworth, Augusta’s Russian factotum, endearingly mixing humour with pathos. The supporting cast played many roles, and for all there was at least one in which they particularly shone. Gill Jenks was resplendent in furs as the domineering Frau General Schmidt, demanding absolution from Peter Roe’s villainous Visconti in temporary cardinal guise. Charlotte Eastes’ bouncy Tooley and Peter Harvey’s CIA man O’Toole added to the array of interesting characters. An excellent selection of music and projected images evoked each country we visited, though greater pace from the acting and more light at the rear of the stage would have assisted our engagement with Greene’s twisting storyline.
The Stables Theatre’s 50th-anniversary season has been full of diverse and challenging plays, and Giles Havergal’s 1991 adaptation of Graham Greene’s Travels With My Aunt was a worthy addition to the programme.
There are many challenges to staging this play, which are for the most part overcome. Henry’s part is split over two actors; one participating in the scenes and the other narrating. The story is entirely told in flashback and by the reminiscences of Augusta. There are frequent changes of scene and character, and the witty writing, like so much Greene, is suffused with sadness.
High praise must go to Nicky Harris, who stepped on to the stage two weeks before the first night. Her Aunt Augusta was domineering and intriguing by turns, her refusal to explain much directly to Henry adding to the allure of her stories, which were acted out by the supporting cast. Peter Barr’s narrator, a languid gentleman in a Panama hat, skilfully stitched the story together for an audience often as bewildered as Henry, played by Greg Slaughter, in his Stables début. Their characters appear widely different at the start but gradually converge, with quite a wrench. Henry has more life, but much less morality. Nothing in Greeneland is ever unequivocal.
There is much in this play that is funny. Sporting a memorable black beard, Dave Hooper appeared as Wordsworth, Augusta’s Russian factotum, endearingly mixing humour with pathos. The supporting cast played many roles, and for all there was at least one in which they particularly shone. Gill Jenks was resplendent in furs as the domineering Frau General Schmidt, demanding absolution from Peter Roe’s villainous Visconti in temporary cardinal guise. Charlotte Eastes’ bouncy Tooley and Peter Harvey’s CIA man O’Toole added to the array of interesting characters. An excellent selection of music and projected images evoked each country we visited, though greater pace from the acting and more light at the rear of the stage would have assisted our engagement with Greene’s twisting storyline.
The Stables Theatre’s 50th-anniversary season has been full of diverse and challenging plays, and Giles Havergal’s 1991 adaptation of Graham Greene’s Travels With My Aunt was a worthy addition to the programme.
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Photographs > www.artypharty.com
A selection of production photographs from the 1950s to the present is available at our photographer Peter Mould’s website.
A selection of production photographs from the 1950s to the present is available at our photographer Peter Mould’s website.
