The Deep Blue Sea

Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea was a bit of a shocker at the time; attempted suicide, depression, illicit affairs in an era still outraged by such behaviour.

It is hard for us to place ourselves in that mind set of the early 50's with post-war optimism offset by those young men who felt they no longer had a noble (and exciting) purpose. Fortunately, we don't have to, Rattigan's play still speaks to us today even though we may laugh at a few bits that were never intended to be funny but seem so in our "modern" world. At its core this is a story of two lovers with an unequal affinity for love itself; the obsessive, passionate Hester and the cooler, but in his own way no less devoted, Freddie. Their love is what drives them but in Freddie's words they "are death to each other".

Hester, a Lady by virtue of her marriage to Lord Collyer, has run off with Freddie, an ex fighter ace but their life together is on a massive downward spiral and they are reduced to living in a boarding house while Freddie drinks and dreams.

Carrie Cracknell's direction has left a really light touch on this production, allowing the characters the space and feedom to burst off the stage. The stage itself is a magnificent construction, layers of the apartment block which provide the backdrop for, and provide the outer world of, this one-room play. And for once, the filming allows the space to be part of the show. Although occasionally cropping tight for short scenes, most of the time we see either the whole stage or, at least, the actors in context which is hugely important here.

Acting across the board is superb with an utterly dominant performance from Helen McCrory. Tom Burke's Freddie was beautifully portrayed and I found Nick Fletcher's Mr Miller truly sympathetic. A beautiful piece of theatre.