The Heiress Overview
Based on the novel “Washington
Square” by Henry James - Period 1850 - Compared to her mother, the
heiress Catherine Sloper seems dull and lifeless, or at least that what
her father believes. With her lack of confidence Catherine becomes easy
prey for fortune hunter Morris Townsend who deserts her on finding out
that she has been disinherited. Two years later, we see Catherine, her
father dead, having matured considerably after her experiences and
prepared to take revenge on Morris Townsend.
In the intimate settings of the
Charles Cryer Studio Theatre, upon entering I was immediately struck by
the grandeur of the Sloper living room. Being a studio venue there was no
curtain and as you enter the auditorium heading for the seated area, it
was almost as if you were walking through a part of the house. The sheer
mass amount of furniture, all in period was almost claustrophobic but
assisted to give the feeling of scale and wealth. I’m not sure if this
was a deliberate ploy or tactic but it worked very nicely. I even
recognised the false bookcase and twin chairs from previous productions
that I have attended. The open set had three effective entrances and
exits. Upstage right was the front door, upstage left was inside the house
and the rising stairs through the centre of the auditorium gave
perspective to the chambers upstairs. This allowed the audience a total
insight to the domesticity of the Sloper household. Even the tranquil
piano playing of Marilyn Curtis during the scene changes embodied the mood
of the piece and it nicely segued into taped music as the lights went up.
Lighting and Sound requirements didn’t seem to pose any particular
difficulties. There was a nice dusk lighting effect in the living room and
some realistic sound effects, a couple of which though were unnecessarily
late.
Costumes were simply sumptuous.
I am not sure how comfortable the ladies dresses were to actually wear but
they just kept coming bigger and better than the one before. Accessories
too were of the necessary standard but if I was being pedantic, Dr
Sloper’s gloves looked of an inferior quality and indeed there was a
modern designer label on his scarf.
I can see why you were so keen
to recruit a props person. With so many period items around, the set also
requires attention to detail in the smaller items of presentation. Anna
Winkler and her team of suppliers must have hunted high and low for some
of these items.
The heiress of the title, who is
perceived to be neither intelligent nor pretty, was played very skilfully
by Clare Gollop. Clare easily portrayed the naïve ‘Catherine’ in the
early part of the play and suitably evolved throughout the performance as
her character finds herself courted by the handsome and charming ‘Morris
Townsend’. Claire relished her chance to allow ‘Catherine’ to wreak
revenge. There was tension and yet chemistry in the match up between
‘Catherine’ and our villain ‘Morris Townsend’. With Morris we
never quite knew whether he was genuinely interested in Catherine or
whether he was embarking upon some gold digging. This is to the credit of
Barry Gollop whose well-judged performance as ‘Morris’ kept us in
suspense. Barry is Clare’s husband and they had a nice onstage rapport.
Strangely though, the passionate kiss didn’t look as natural as you
might of expected! In the dual undertaking of Director and ‘Dr Austin
Sloper’, Denis Steer clearly had his arms full. I’ve already praised
many of the production values but the suffocating ‘Dr Sloper’ does not
appear to be an easy part to play. He is clearly an intelligent man who
never appears to have got over the loss of his wife. He has pages upon
pages of dialogue and whilst Denis took the odd prompt, his command of
stage and dialogue was well demonstrated. Dr Sloper’s sisters ‘Lavinia
Penniman’ and ‘Elizabeth Almond’ were brought to life by the zestful
pair of Mo Lawton and Sue Davids. Mo in particular was impressive in her
scenes as ‘Catherine’s confidante and matchmaker. In the supporting
cast, the part of the youthful niece ‘Marian Almond’, was played
confidently by Katie Smith. It is sometimes more difficult to play a
smaller cameo role than take on a larger part as you don’t get as much
time to make an impact. Unfortunately this was proved true of the
character ‘Mrs Montgomery’. Christine Wheeler struggled to come to
terms with her main scene. In the lower classes, we were given a glimpse
of the talents of Sam Bourne in the minor role of ‘Maria’, the parlour
maid.
I wasn’t sure about the decision to house the ‘continuity’ gentleman in the front row. I think I would have preferred to have them slightly concealed on either side of the stage. Just a thought.
Stephen Macvicar