The Deep Blue Sea ~ Independent Theatre ~ Review

[Theatre – SA]

The Deep Blue Sea
Star Theatre 1
Fri 29 Nov, 2024

Set in London in the 1950’s, Terrence Rattigan’s curious play centres around Hester Collyer, a woman who has renounced her upper class life for a new life among the hoi polloi with a much younger beau who is, according to her husband, her ‘morally and intellectually inferior’. But you see Hester doesn’t care. She has fallen out of love with her husband and has shacked up with another man who she now realises has never really loved her. Consequently, Hester in fact seems to have fallen out of love with life itself. She’s concluded that romantic love is an illusion that can in all likelihood never be found, and that others’ views of what true love looks like are always so different from your own that it is a pointless exercise seeking it out.

And for Hester this means that ultimately, nothing really matters. She has her paintings, an upstairs neighbour who tries to convince her that life is worth living, and a landlady brimming with positivity (delightfully played by Rose Vallon) who really cares for her. Even her estranged husband returns to try and save her.

But Hester is confused and distraught. When her much younger lover decides to leave her she loses all sense of composure and in a tense, gripping conclusion to the first half is grovelling on the floor begging him to stay.

I enjoyed David Roach’s portrayal of the mysterious Mr Miller. His Teutonic matter of fact, no nonsense approach seems to get through to Hester more than more loving and caring approaches. A final scene whose meaning is much debated would appear to indicate that Hester has decided to live for a while longer, but one cannot be sure.

The role of Hester Collyer is an extremely challenging one. She must be at once attractive and engaging enough to warrant the amorous attraction of at least three men in this play, while appearing indifferent and confused about life. Lyn Wilson is appropriately distant, reserved, and off-centre in the role for much of the play, but could perhaps balance her portrayal with a bit more spark.

Like I said, a curious play. People through the ages have grappled with the point of life and whether it’s worth living. All societies find it very difficult to accept that someone among them wants to kill themselves and will show people great care in these moments of desperation. Men and women have always had difficulty understanding the other, and men always seem to think they know what women need. Many women are not content just to be a ‘loving wife’. These are enduring themes that are just as relevant now as they were in the 1950s in Britain. There are no doubt more modern works that address these same issues, but the 1950’s context is important here: attempted suicide was a criminal offence, divorce was well-nigh impossible, and Britain was still suspicious of a Germany that had recently wreaked havoc across Europe.

3.5 stars

Michael Coghlan

Presented by Independent Theatre
Directed by Rob Croser

The Deep Blue Sea continues at Star Theatre 1 at Hilton at various times until Sat 7 Dec. Purchase your tickets HERE.

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