You may know this play as the film The Loudest Whisper with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. I didn't, so went along to the Comedy Theatre's current production starring Keria Knightley, Elizabeth Moss and Ellen Burstyn, happily unaware of the shocking plot twists in store. It's a fantastic play, which, in brief and without the major revelations, tells the story of two female teachers who have worked long and hard to establish a girl's boarding school, but whose efforts are viciously undone by the spreading of a malicious rumour fabricated by one of the girls to avoid punishment after running away, purporting that they are lesbians.
Although the lesbian aspect of the story is less shocking now than when the play was first staged in 1934, much of the story's emotional cut and thrust still resonates deeply with contemporary audiences - well with me at least. What affected me most was the darkly potent power of gossip and here say. The wily cruelty of bullying manipulation. The tragedy and harm that can be done when acting from panic rather than with rational consideration. The agony of being in love with someone you can't have. Not quite understanding the emotions behind your own actions. The agonising oppression of guilt. Wavering loyalty, faltering courage, abject betrayal. I gasped with disbelief on several occasion, mouthed 'no!' too and hid my face in my hands. not in a panto way, in a genuinely physically moved way. It's a great play if you ask me.
I very much liked the blue washed wooden board of the set and the shabby chic decor. i loved the school girls' 1930s maroon tunic uniforms and the teachers' mid-calf skirts, tucked in blouses and neat little bobs and sensible-heeled Mary Janes. Aesthetically the decor and costumes were unobtrusive, elegant and effective, adding to the atmosphere without scene stealing. The performances were wonderful too, from all the leads, but i was especially entranced by Bryony Hannah as the liar Mary - a loathsome, detestable, evil witch disguised as a little girl. Ellen Burstyn was perfect as her soft-touch alarmist grandmother who, while poised and elegant, isn't poised or elegant enough to stop her wild panic from causing havoc. Elizabeth Moss brought a quietly tragic resplendence to the role of Martha, the unfortunate subject of the most cruel dramatic irony in that she doesn't understand about her character what the audience can see only too clearly. Keira Knightly, initially outshone by Elizabeth Moss (whose part is, in truth, the more interesting one), admirably holds her own, i think (jutting jaw and ridiculous poise aside - she needs to relax, big time - she's always such an actress rather than an actual person), a perfect schoolmarm whith whom you might very well fall a little bit in love with and later a nervy shadow undone by those she tried to help. All in all a great play, wonderfully performed.
As a minor addendum, it playwright Lillian Hellman has a long relationship with the author of the hard boiled detective novel The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett. Not only is this an utterly fabulous book, but Dashiell is the name of my new godson, born not three weeks ago...
You seem to have enjoyed this production far more than I did. I found some of the plot developments / characterisations unconvincing and by the time of the final scene, was left unsure as to what I should feel. At times, I found myself drifting off to other thoughts only to return and find that not much has changed.
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