South London Theatre June Review

AUDIENCE REVIEW

Sweet Sorrow, Bell Theatre April 1999

I MUST START by saying what a fine production "Sweet Sorrow" was. Both well-acted and well-choreographed. The subject matter would not have been to everybody's immediate taste - the ghost of Philip Larkin gatecrashes an annual party held by four of his fans - but by the end of the play I did get the idea from the writer that Larkin's ghost was not a naff idea à la Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), but was actually a buyable metaphor for 'posterity. The writer had a unique chance to see how his outpourings had touched the people who had appreciated them. This was achieved by the four 'party members' recanting the moment they became hooked on Larkin - each flashback episode resulting in a personal loss of some sort. The first Larkin devotee, Tom (Dermot Boyle), tells how one of Larkin's poems on his hometown of Hull made him appreciate his humble lot, thereby robbing him of his expectations. The second flashback from Barbara (played by director Sarah Slater) tells how Larkin's poetry had revealed her dissatisfaction - she started an affair with her Literature Teacher at the local Adult Education Institute.
The first act was a mite too subtle and low-key for some of us, but in Act Two content matched presentation, especially when the English Teacher (Maxine Canham) recalled her dalliance with the bard of bitterness cost her her job. Dermot Boyle (who plays Tom, remember? All the 'live' cast double, triple and/or quadruple up in the flashbacks) is one of her students at assembly who gives a heart-felt interpretation of the notorious 'They Fuck you up, your Mum and Dad'. Later the final partygoer, Charles (Jeremy Smith) gives us the vicar who realiseth he hath lost his faith, thankth to Larkin. The scene summed up the whole play/production in one sense; when the vicar kneels before the audience reciting Biblical epithets while his faith in some of Christianity's fundamentals is crumbling against the weight of reality, the passion and intensity of his feelings is perfectly convincingly played by Jeremy Smith. Engaging, also, is the moment where Larkin enters the Church (the set is still the Lounge - all the illusions are sold to the audience very well) and recites the poem that exposed the vicar's doubt. Then the poem goes on too long - and so do the vicar's reactions to it. This is the point - that is the play's fault and not the production's - where some of the scenes were a little low-key it was because the actors knew there was a good bit coming up but they were not in it yet.
John Lyne must be given a special mention for his excellent portrayal of Larkin's ghost. On the down side there was one fluff and one prompt. It might seem churlish to mention these, but who wants sycophantic reviews (we do, I hear you cry!). These minor errors did not distract from the play, but I do feel that we need to be honest about one of the aspects that separates amateur from professional theatre. All in all though, the Easter production was definitely one of the better eggs that the SLT has laid.
R.B.
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