Show don’t tell is the mantra
for any type of story telling but, unfortunately Peter Gill hasn’t adhered to this in his latest play, Versailles, currently showing at The Donmar. It’s not that he’s delivered a bad play, only
one that is too lengthy. Lengthy in
running time (a marathon three hours) and full of lengthy, rather lecturing
monologues.
The subject matter is interesting,
dealing as it does with the aftermath of World War I and The Treaty of
Versailles. It centres round the
Rawlinsons, a middle class family living in Kent, whose son, Leonard, is a
member of the British delegation to Paris.
Each member of this family, their friends and neighbours have their
views on what the War meant and will mean in the future. The only problem is that most of them (the
men in particular) expound these views in such a hectoring fashion that I, for
one, was constantly switching off. This,
coupled with very little action, makes it a very long three hours.
For such a naturalistic play,
it is strange that Mr. Gill brings Leonard’s sexual preferences to our
attention by including a ghost in full military kit into the proceedings. The ghost in question is Gerald Chater, one of
the many young soldiers who didn’t return after The Great War and who was
Leonard’s boyfriend. Despite this
relationship, their conversations together, which presumably take place in
Leonard’s head, are stilted and full of suppressed emotion.
There are some excellent
performances from the large cast and the set and costumes set the scene to
perfection. It is also not without some
amusing lines, most of them spoken by the splendid, Barbara Flynn as the non P.C. Marjorie Chater. A rather more sympathetic character is Edith
Rawlison, excellently brought to life by Fracesca
Annis. She portrays to perfection a
bossy mother, wanting to avoid any unpleasantness. Another character keeping his emotions under
wraps is Hugh Skidmore, very well played by Josh O’Connor. Despite his
Rattigan-like clipped, upper-class voice, Hugh, in this young actor’s capable
hands, is imbued with a touching sincerity.
One of his most memorable lines is, “I find it necessary to be with
someone who’s heard a shell explode”.
However the most moving scene
in the play is when the totally believable Christopher
Godwin as Gerald Chater breaks down during a tea time visit to the
Rawlinson’s in Act Three. It is quite
apparent that he will never get over the death of his soldier son, Gerald. What a pity his character appears so briefly.
Versailles promises much,
being written and directed by Peter Gill,
but for me it proves to be a disappointment.
"Show,
don’t tell" is the mantra for any type of story telling but, unfortunately
Peter Gill hasn’t adhered to this in his latest play, Versailles,
currently showing at The Donmar. It’s not that he’s delivered a
bad play...just one that is too lengthy. Lengthy in running time (a
marathon three hours) and full of lengthy, rather lecturing monologues.
The subject
matter is interesting, dealing as it does with the aftermath of World War I and
The Treaty of Versailles. It centres round the Rawlinsons, a middle class
family living in Kent, whose son, Leonard, is a member of the British
delegation to Paris. Each member of this family, their friends and
neighbours have their views on what the War meant and will mean in the
future. The only problem is that most of them (the men in particular)
expound these views in such a hectoring fashion that I, for one, was constantly
switching off. This, coupled with very little action, makes it a very
long three hours.
For such a
naturalistic play, it is strange that Mr. Gill brings Leonard’s sexual
preferences to our attention by including a ghost in full military kit into the
proceedings. The ghost in question is Gerald Chater, one of the many
young soldiers who didn’t return after The Great War and who was Leonard’s
boyfriend. Despite this relationship, their conversations together, which
presumably take place in Leonard’s head, are stilted and full of suppressed
emotion.
There are some
excellent performances from the large cast and the set and costumes set the
scene to perfection. It is also not without some amusing lines, most of
them spoken by the splendid, Barbara Flynn as the non P.C. Marjorie
Chater. A rather more sympathetic character is Edith Rawlison,
excellently brought to life by Francesca Annis. She portrays to
perfection a bossy mother, wanting to avoid any unpleasantness. Another
character keeping his emotions under wraps is Hugh Skidmore, very well played
by Josh O’Connor. Despite his Rattigan-like clipped,
upper-class voice, Hugh, in this young actor’s capable hands, is imbued with a
touching sincerity. One of his most memorable lines is, “I find it
necessary to be with someone who’s heard a shell explode”.
However the
most moving scene in the play is when the totally believable Christopher
Godwin as Gerald Chater breaks down during a tea time visit to the
Rawlinson’s in Act Three. It is quite apparent that he will never get
over the death of his soldier son, Gerald. What a pity his character
appears so briefly.
