Set in a farmhouse in contemporary Dorset, ‘Visitors’ is an interesting piece which at first glance seemed comparable to some of the modern Irish plays such as ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’, exploring intergenerational relationships in a confined rural setting but fortunately was nothing like as depressing, although certain dark undercurrents were explored.
The set of a farmhouse interior was very convincing as the play opened to show an elderly couple conversing whilst living out a quiet retirement. With not a single electronic item in site (not even a radio) but plenty of varnished woodwork and pottery in evidence, the scenario was well depicted of life from another era still present in today’s world, juxtaposed to that of a young woman with died blue hair in dungarees who arrives to spend time there.
‘Visitors’ is primarily about generational differences, in terms of outlook, attitudes and aspirations. The later appearance of the couple’s son, a smartly dressed man in his forties, completed the triangle of three generations with it transpiring that he was going through a divorce. The outward appearance of each generation seemed to be a metaphor for their attitude and life styles; the young woman trendily dressed and open-minded about life and her future (a true millenial?), the middle-aged man in a sharp suit, career-minded and opportunistic whilst the old couple wore dowdy clothes, appearing never to have expected much (the husband revealing he was the third generation to living in the same house which is all he had ever known).
On the face of it, the set-up might have seemed very clichéd, with the old couple representing a time when divorce was very much the exception in contrast to their son’s generation, where his wife had simply ‘got bored of him’. However, there was considerably more depth to the play as the story unfolded with a lot of well-written dialogue which had clearly been in part based on real-life observation (the young writer Barney Norris has stated that much of the source material for the old couple came from his own grandparents). The play in many ways questioned what have passed for modern values and offered some hope in that the new young generation just might be that bit more caring and less cynical than their parents whilst it was clear from the old couple that a lot had been lost through the rejection of many of their old-fashioned values, not least of which was simply learning to be content with what you have.
A side-issue to the play was the on-set of dementia in the old woman, a stark reminder that this is very much a growing problem across Western society, whether living in an isolated farmhouse as she was or the city, and it was the young woman who seemed to have the better recognition of this as opposed to the son whose remedy was just to pack his mother off to a care home.
‘Visitors’ was very well cast with Liz Crowther and Robin Herford very credible as the aging couple whilst Kitty Douglas as Kate brought an air of the fresh vibrancy of youth. Ben Porter looked suitably out of place, besuited in the old farmhouse and convincingly brought over a different attitude and mind-set to his parents. The play was directed with a good pace by Chris Lawson although it seemed rather odd why the large screen backdrop to the set kept continually changing. At times, the representational images, such as sky or a cornfield were clear enough, but having several changes within a single scene just seemed confusing.
A good play, well presented and more observational of life in general than having a specific story. Certainly thought-provoking and well worth seeing. ‘Visitors’ is on until 4th May.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 18/4/19
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