 A knockout revival at PRT By Lovell Estell Published on November 11, 2009 at 6:24pm |
 Though not as widely known or acclaimed
as his contemporary British playwrights, Terence Rattigan was
a superb dramatist and chronicler of human emotions. Here, Rattigan’s
The Browning Version, the gloomy story of an aging schoolteacher
crushed by failure and disappointment, receives a stellar mounting
by director Marilyn Fox. A well-regarded scholar of the classics,
Andrew Crocker-Harris (the superb Bruce French) has spent the
last 18 years as an instructor at a public school in England
but must leave the position because of failing health to take
a less-stressful job elsewhere. Now the object of jokes and ridicule
by his students, and denied a pension by the school, he has a
bearing that is subdued by sadness, yearning and a palpable “gallows”
surrender to circumstance. His wife, Millie (Sally Smythe), has
given up on being happy with him and has contented herself with
numerous dalliances with his colleagues (which she delights in
reminding him of), and cruelly undermining what remains of his
sense of manhood. Her current lover, Frank (understudy David
Rogge), is torn between a sense of guilt, his admiration for
Andrew, and the dying embers of lust for Millie. It is only when
the professor is presented with a rare translation of Agamemnon
from a student (Justin Preston) that his mask of stoic restraint
melts to reveal a desperately fragile inner life. From this sedate
tapestry of characters, Rattigan artfully probes marriage, relationship
and our perverse capacity to embrace lacerating emotional pain
and self-deceit, which all unfold beautifully on Norman Scott’s
cleverly designed sitting-room mock-up. Fox directs this piece
with masterful subtlety and draws devastatingly convincing performances
from her actors. Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd.,
Venice; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Dec. 2. (No
perfs Nov. 12 & 26 or Dec. 10.) (310) 822-8392. |
