Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘The Herbal Bed’ which is at Clwyd Theatre Cymru until Saturday 28th March 2014.
Peter Whelan is a pretty near perfect playwright. I can say that now because the Potteries writer – who I’ve admired for much of my life – sadly passed away last year and won’t be embarrassed.
His ability to create multi-dimensional characters and place them in deeply demanding scenarios is so alluring and consuming that, watching his work, time passes in an instant.
The pinnacle of his legacy of plays must be his 1996 Royal Shakespeare Company commission “The Herbal Bed” … the backdrop to which (much to the satisfaction of his commissioners) is the dotage of William Shakespeare. In the summer of 1613 he’s clearly a grumpy old invalid becoming all the more needy of his daughter Susanna – who is preparing for him the Elizabethan equivalent of a granny flat.
But, in a masterstroke of stagecraft, we barely see The Bard…because his daughter’s desires take centre stage.
She’s married the Stratford herbalist John Hall for his medicine – but he doesn’t meet her physical needs. The trouble is, her suitors are unsuitable. The one she really falls for is the local haberdasher Rafe Smith and whilst they don’t get up to much, they would both jolly well like to; which, in the god-fearing society of the day in which behaviour is tightly bounded, is just as bad. Our lovers are damned whether they do or don’t. A highly embarrassing ecclesiastical court case must surely follow. And God complicates everything.
Emma Lucia’s casting and direction is impeccable and the actors universally wonderful … to the point where this seasoned old critic forgot he was in a theatre.
Amanda Ryan (pictured with Martin Richardson) plays the well-grounded Susanna Shakespeare with all her poetic father’s deepest understanding of humanity and frailty. I’ve enjoyed seeing her on stage before – but last night something very special slotted into place. I was deeply impressed by her perfect handling of Whelan’s dichotic character…meeting all his challenges with room to spare.
She falls from grace, but retains respect. She’s a casualty, yet stays in command. She is able to display compassion and yet have contempt for the rascal who would bring her down. As her performance unfolded, I sat in awe.
The wicked nave Jack Lane is a snivellingly immoral Jack The Lad. I sensed Alex Parry was drawing upon his seasons as a pantomime baddie to lay the foundations of a character you loved to hate. But he overlaid the obvious with well-considered complexities, creating a hopelessly immature, arrogant, vocationless, spoilt brat who treated every night as if it was Friday night. Yet, there was still something appealing about him and I was indeed urging his master to give him another chance.
It is Lane who borrows the Bard’s favourite device of a revelatory letter – and when it all comes to court, Llion Williams is wonderfully weasel-ish as the conniving puritanical cleric who knows there’s something naughty at the bottom of all this but is thwarted in his quest for the tabloid truth by the wide-eyed maid Hester. Wrexham’s Elin Phillips has great fun with this flirtatious, sunny role…wearing her heart innocently on her sleeve and, just by her demeanour, making it clear why the Halls could not possibly cope without her. It’s a lovely performance – and she gets the best line in the play, which kicks God in the goolies.
It’s all played out in Mark Bailey’s beautifully realistic herb garden set…centred around a work bench Brother Cadfael would pray for. Both designer and author pay great attention to the details of herbal cures.
It’s a simply perfect evening. The privilege was all mine. I’ve been reviewing at Clwyd for a quarter of a century now and ‘The Herbal Bed’ is an absolute highlight.
Photo : Catherine Ashmore
Visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk for bookings & information about Clwyd Theatr Cymru.