REVIEW: The Dark Earth And The Light Sky - The Garrick Theatre, Stockport.

A fairly new play, this is the true story of Edward Thomas, a poet who died over one hundred years ago, and the story focuses on the key complex relationships in his life, notably with fellow poet Robert Frost. ‘The Dark Earth And The Light Sky’ is an interesting piece, offering more than just a simple story of a war poet who we know from the outset will not survive the conflict. It is as much a study of motivations for life in general and art in particular and this makes for a compelling piece of theatre, with interesting well-drawn characters embroiled in a wonderful mixture of realistically entwined relationships; a case study of expectations, friendship, love and jealousy.

Director Sarah Doyle showed considerable attention to detail from excellent casting to effective use of the generous amount of stage space. There was a very real sense of various atmospheres, from the quite warble of a bird above an English meadow to the horrors of trench warfare. The same care had been taken with the costuming and everything was set well for the cast to take us back to the early twentieth century.

The play had no long drawn-out scenes, calling on the actors to use all their skills to keep moving us through a wide range of locations. The first rate cast all excelled in drawing us into the story, with a number of short but very powerful scenes, in which the very essence of love and friendship was roughly stripped to the bone. A key theme, principally in the main subject matter of Edward Thomas, was the underlying existential reasons for motivation, be that to hold together a marriage or give up a lucrative career for artistic passions. Even the true natures of patriotism and love of country were put under the microscope.

Douglas Powie gave a strong and measured performance in the key role of Edward Thomas, very well understating his inner turmoil and demons, as was expected of Englishmen at the time. Morgan Edwards provided the perfect counterbalance as established American poet Frost, unconstrained by social niceties, could give free expression to all his feelings. Gemma Landford as Edwards’ wife Helen, gave a spirited performance, struggling often to really understand her husband and her insecureties about his friendship with fellow-poet Eleanor Farjeon, played with a charming innocence by Maili Lavin-Bailey. Mention must also be made of Robert Talbot, who gave a spirited performance as Edward’s macho, jingoistic father, Philip. It was often all too apparent that with such a dichotomy of personalities, there were going to issues, suppressed or otherwise. The emotions portrayed by all the actors were brilliantly performed, none more so than a scene where Helen rejected her friend because she also loved Edward, even if she could not be sure in exactly what way.

Stockport Garrick presented a pleasing and versatile set, which doubled well as both a Home Counties downs and a WW1 trench. The plain backdrop enabled lighting to be used very effectively, bringing over the essence of a wide range of scenarios which greatly enhanced the atmosphere of the drama. The sound effects ranged from bird songs in the background, hardly audible but very effective, to the deafening explosion as a shell landing, which, combined with visual effects, leaving you feeling sick to the stomach.

The play was over two hours long but held the audience for every minute of it. A thought-provoking work with memorable performances and excellent staging, ‘The Dark Earth And The Light Sky’ at Stockport Garrick is highly recommended.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 11/3/19