THE NIGHT WATCH | STAGE REVIEW
****
Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff, Thurs 8 Feb
Booker-shortlisted novelist Sarah Waters creates gritty yet opulent period fiction that cries out for the theatre treatment, and here is a fine example – a wistful, sensual, and somewhat chaotic production of The Night Watch staged by the RWCMD’s very own Richard Burton Company.
The story follows a handful of characters through tumultuous wartime London, but the narrative is told in reverse, beginning in 1947. Androgynous Kay (Rebecca Hayes) spends her time wandering the streets aimlessly, while Duncan (Lewis Cope) is stuck in a menial job in a candle making factory, sharing a house with an older man ominously referred to as ‘Uncle Horace’ (Thomas Dylan). Helen (Clare Donaldson) and Viv (Foxey Hardman) run a dating agency, while Helen’s relationship with Julia (Olivia Morris) is fraught with jealousy. With everyone seemingly struggling to break free from the clammy grip of the past, it is slowly revealed exactly how the war has impacted on each of their lives.
Hattie Naylor has adapted the 500-page novel to a swift 2-hour play, which is no small feat – and she mostly manages to pull it off, with no loss of coherence or flattening of the characters. But at times the audience has to work hard to fill in the gaps, especially if they are not already familiar with the novel. Duncan spends most of the war incarcerated, but it is unclear how he ended up in prison, and the story of Viv’s affair with a married man is pretty much drowned in a sea of interwoven narratives.
The set uses few but impactful props to evoke wartime Britain, with boxes labelled ‘spam’, ‘corned beef’ and ‘oxo’ stacked high and, in one crucial moment, adding visual impact to an explosion. The story’s more action-packed scenes have been resolved creatively, with one scene making carefully choregraphed use of flashlights to simulate an ambulance driving through blacked out London. And costume designer Helena Goldberg must be commended for her attention to detail in the exquisite 1940’s outfits, which drew many an envious sigh from this reviewer.
The inclusion of sexuality in a conventionally prim period genre is Sarah Waters’ trademark, and fortunately this remains a strong feature in the stage adaptation. There is a no-holds-barred male masturbation scene and, more importantly, the central lesbian ménage-a-trois between Kay, Julia and Helen, which culminates in a scene of defiant passion amid the panic and desperation of an air raid.
Sarah Waters brings to life the heroic stories of gay and lesbian lives which have been left untold by the likes of Dickens and Austen, and this spirited adaptation does her modern classic justice, with sparkling performances from a cast of third-year RWCMD students – Rebecca Hayes is in turns fearless and vulnerable, and Olivia Morris commands the stage with her self-possessed allure.
words LISBETH BURICH
