If you were lucky enough to catch French playwright Florian Zeller’s almost unbearably poignant “The Father” which focussed on an elderly man’s unfocussed descent into dementia, the structure of THE MOTHER (his latest work to cross the Channel and again skilfully translated by Christopher Hampton) will come as no surprise. In this short earlier play (written in 2010, four years before “The Father”) he’s turned his attention to the mental fragility of a middle-aged woman whose beloved son has almost completely broken free of maternal ties. To add to her increasing angst, her husband (Richard Clothier) is off – or so he says – to a seminar on micro-credits in Leicester which may, or may not, be a dirty weekend away with what she refers to as one of his “bitches”.
Zeller plays games with time and point of view – replaying the same scene with slight variations until it’s impossible to know where the truth really lies. What is certain, however, is that Gina McKee gives a knockout performance as the empty-nester with nothing to do all day, often too apathetic to change out of pyjamas – except to flaunt a newly purchased (and inappropriately youthful) red dress and suggest a night out on the town with her son (William Postlethwaite) when he has a major row with the girlfriend (Frances McNamee) of whom she openly disapproves.
It may not have quite the emotional power of the later work, but this portrayal of an unfulfilled life is still definitely worth seeing.
“The Father” returns for a brief run later this month (don’t miss it), but in the meantime RED VELVET, another critical and popular hit from the Tricycle is back as part of the Kenneth Branagh season at the Garrick. Adrian Lester reprises his powerhouse performance as Ira Aldridge, the African American actor who stepped (briefly as it turned out) into Edmund Kean’s shoes to play Othello at the Theatre Royal in 1833 – the first black actor to do so in London.
Lolita Chakrabarti’s fact-inspired, backstage drama sits very comfortably in the Garrick and really comes into its own in a blistering row between Aldridge and the theatre manager who drafted him in but then finds himself powerless in the face of brutal prejudice and savage reviews. And Lester’s final transformation, over three decades later as an ailing Aldridge prepares to play Lear, is one of those unforgettable theatrical moments which wordlessly speaks volumes.
The Mother
Tricycle, Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR
Tube :- Kilburn
Extended until 12th March
£14.00 – £28.00
Red Velvet
Garrick, Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0HH
Leicester Square tube
Till 27th February
£15.00 – £65 + premium seats
