- 09 Feb 2011 – 05 Mar 2011
- The Print Room.
Words by Stephen McEwen.
The world of theatre always seems obsessed with genre, always striving towards the apparently ‘serious arts’ of tragedy or satire; it’s rather refreshing to see something a bit different, in fact (unsurprisingly, at ‘The Print Room’, where the creative ethos seems set very much on such an artistic approach) in the form of Alan Ayckbourn’s haunting thriller, ‘Snake in the Grass.’
The moment we enter the auditorium, we are plunged perfectly into the world of the text, as William Dudley’s superb setting draws us into the eerily cramped and dilapidated tennis court on which two middle-aged sisters now find themselves reunited. Younger sister Miriam has been forced to look after her overbearing father for the majority of her life, whereas the older Annabel has chosen to escape, living in Tasmania with her abusive husband, only prompted to return after the failure of her marriage and the death of her father. Now reluctantly reunited, the two women must face up to their respective pasts, and their to complex relationship with each other, as well as with their father. It’s the constant twists and turns which occur hereafter which make this thriller what it is, induced by the arrival of their father’s former nurse, the vulgar and boorish Alice, who now demands money for unfair dismissal – any further mention of plot detail would ruin what is an eventful voyage through memory, deceit and blackmail. Engaging to say the least, this production will grip you with one hand, and surprise you with the other, doing neither so much as to destroy the overall performance.
However, what maintains this performance – as well as making it so varied in result – is the acting. All three women carry off their roles to perfection, moving deftly between painful memories, comedic sarcasm, sisterly love, and sensational surprise. In particular, the well-paced dialogue between the sisters is engagingly executed, Sarah Woodward’s uncomfortable and awkward Miriam, providing a good foil to Susan Wooldridge’s cool, funny and über middle-class Annabel. A very English drama, all in all, which will make you think twice before you go onto a tennis court again. Well done, the Print Room.
‘Snake in the Grass’ is at The Print Room’ from 9th February – 5th March.
The Print Room (Click Here)
