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Thursday February 23, 2023
The Mirror Cracked
This is an adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff performed by the Original Theatre Company at the Rose theatre - its penultimate venue after a six-month tour.
Stars Susie Blake, and Sophie Ward
Slightly damning with faint praise - this was an "adequate" production - nothing wrong with it - told the story - well acted - but failed to stir my emotions (and it is a very emotional story). To be fair, I have seen a lot of dramatisations of this in my time, and maybe there is only so much you can do with a plot.
Afterwards, I did feel bound to go home and watch once more the Joan Hickson version from the 1990s - which I consider to be yardstick - followed by the more modern "Marple" with Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie. I have younger friends who prefer the latter; they are indeed lighter (both literally in the filming as well as in the tone) portraying everything in a kind of colour supplement version of the 1950s, and they certainly have their own unique appeal. Give that this type of murder mystery is truly a weird kind of fantasy in the first place, I have no valid objections - nor indeed to any of the modern interpretation of Christie's stories - she herself tinkered with many versions of her own stories for stage and screen.
However, those Miss Marples from the 90s featured actresses just old enough to really live inside the characters they were playing - a generation seen in my aunts and uncles that I can say with a tear in my eye which is now lost to us. Not only did Joan excel in what must have been the starring role she was born for (having been a stalwart of almost every British black and white movie throughout the era), but who could suggest a better Dolly than Gwen Watford? And what can I say about the truly moving relationship seen in "A Murder is Announced" with Joan Sims and Paola Dionisotti?
So maybe that was it - I did not warm to the portrayals of Miss Marple and Dolly in this production. Simple as that.
Posted by Christina at 11:48 PM. Category: Art and Culture
