In this 60 minute drama, Maverick Theatre tried to tell the story about Winston Churchill's early political career, prior to his accepting Prime Ministeship in 1940. We are taken back to the early 1900s before, even, the first world war, and his long-lasting friendship from fellow cabinet minister and again too, later Prime Minister, David Lloyd-George.
This is done mostly through the narrated eyes of Frances Stevenson, who was Lloyd-George's secretary, children's nanny, and mistress; but we also hear from both Churchill's wife (Clementine), and Lloyd-George's (Margaret). However, since the play is called Winston And David, we mustn't forget that it is their relationship, both in and out of office, that is the play's main focus. What makes this play fascinating is that it has been written by Robert Lloyd-George, none other than the great grandson of the aforementioned Prime Minister. We can therefore take for granted the historical accuracy of the writing.
Where this play falls down though, is in the lack of historical accuracy elsewhere. A simple set of a white table and two white wooden chairs sufficed for all scenes, and all props were mimed (some more successfully than others), whilst the costumes were sadly laughable. However I did appreciate the actors portraying Winston (Peter Swales), and Lloyd-George (Geraint Rhys), trying to bring about a certain realism in their vocalisations, with Swales giving Winston a slight lisp and stutter on certain words, and Rhys's natural Welsh tones were used to good effect for his character.
Directed by Nick Hennegen, the play lacked pace and dynamicity, and so sadly, my and others' attentions tended to wander.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 29.8.22
on - 29.8.22
No comments:
Post a Comment