Bryony
Lavery’s adaptation of American writer Alice Sebold’s novel has its first
outing at Liverpool for a two-week run following its Northampton premiere. Liverpool’s
own theatre royalty was out in force for this much anticipated joint production
in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. The Lovely Bones is, of
course, also a successful film so there is much to both live up to and
challenge in producing a live performance.
A seemingly unassuming
neighbour Mr Harvey (Keith Dunphy) is loitering. The play opens with his latest
victim, carefree fourteen-year old Susie Salmon (Charlotte Beaumont), being
brutally raped and murdered. Her only previous sexual experience is a consensual
kiss from a school classmate in the early throes of first love. Robbed of her
life, a furious Susie can’t move on to a successful afterlife until her killer
is uncovered so she hovers in a strange place named heaven that can give her
anything she wants but life itself.
Lavery conveys the story with conviction
while leaving space for the audience to fill in their own gaps and draw their
own parallels and conclusions much like reading a book. Never overwritten,
there is a freshness to both the script and the ensemble cast, led by Charlotte
Beaumont, in an extraordinarily accomplished performance, playing Susie Salmon.
Set in small town, rural Pennsylvania in the 1970’s, the play is accompanied by
a period sound track of retro songs such as Bowie’s Major Tom, original music
composed by Dave Price and some very loud sound effects. The songs give a
strong sense of time and mood with music adding to the, at times, thriller-like
suspense.
On stage
throughout, though unseen by her family and friends, Susie tries to identify
her murderer and halt his crimes. She attempts to communicate clues to her
grieving parents, siblings, friends and even the family dog (Holiday) played by
a scampering Karan Gill. It sounds absurd, but you can feel yourself willing
the characters to see and hear Susie. They are mostly too self-involved in
their own initial grief and lives to feel her presence and Susie grows more and
more frustrated as she witnesses them (remarkably quickly) growing up and
moving on without her. Susie’s dad, Jack Salmon (Jack Sandle) on the other hand
feels Susie’s presence and searches for the truth to the point of exhaustion
while trying to hold his family together. Two black actors play younger sister
Lindsey (Ayoola Smart) and brother Buckley (Natasha Cottriall) challenging
racial and gender stereotypes that were only emerging in theatre in the 1970s. Smart
is a believable Lindsey providing future hope as she becomes a young confident
woman despite the loss of her sister. At times painful, Susie’s frustration (a
teenager who feels no one listens) also allows for some comedy moments,
providing relief from what is essentially a very dark tale.
Susie’s mother,
Abigail (Emily Bevan), seems so detached throughout that we never really feel
her grief so when she finally uses sex to rebel it seems a bit gratuitous. This
is where the play is flawed for me. We never see her inner rage and she never
really finds her voice. Perhaps that is the point. A 1970’s woman’s life is so
humdrum and confined to cooking and cleaning, that Abigail becomes almost as
unseen as she is unheard.
The play is
emotional and does connect in other ways. Although the story is told (to an
engrossed audience), from the point of view of Susie, the play is very subjective
with much to ponder in the main themes of; life after death, family
relationships, teenage coming of age, gender stereotyping and sexuality. This
is a sexual play without being at all sexy.
Although too
much unnecessary back-of-stage action at times confuses and distracts, the mirrored
wall and (tilted) ceiling set (designed by Ana Ines Jabares-Pita) is impressive
and together with low-tech props, the sounds of the 70s and some lovely stage
movement creates a unique theatrical experience.
This is a
quality production with good ensemble support including Susan Bovell playing
Abigail’s boozy mother, and Keith Dunphy menaces as an un-remorseful killer Mr Harvey. The
writing emphasises and gives voice to the victims and does not glorify the
killer in any way.
At 100
minutes without an interval the energy remained high, but more time could have been spent on exploring family relationships and the grieving process for The Lovely
Bones to truly work. Love or hate it - people were talking about it long after
the curtain came down.
Reviewer - Barbara Sherlock
on - 27/9/18
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