'Intimate Apparel' is a one act play (about 90 minutes through), by contemporary American playwright Lynn Nottage. The story is set in New York at the turn of the 20th century, and tells of a black seamstress, Esther, who strikes up a correspondence with a black worker on the Panama Canal; and once his work finishes, arranges with her to come up to New York and marry her. Esther has saved much money at her work, and is now 35 years old, and hoping to open her own beauty salon when this correspondence starts, and of course, things don't go the way that either party expected they would.
Performed with sincerity and gravitas this afternoon by third year students of the Manchester School Of Theatre, this play has a cast of only 6, and all were strong and formidable in their own way. Appointed Oyediran played the pivotal central role of Esther with gentle candidness. At times her voice was too quiet to cope with the in-the-round setting given this play by director Carla Henry. When she was facing my way, all was clear, but when she had her back or side to where I was seated, then her voice was mostly lost, and had to rely on her body language and gait to understand her dialogue. Her correspondent-cum-husband was performed by Reis Mendes, and sadly, despite his accent being undoubtedly authentic, it was simply too thick and unintelligible for me to understand the majority of his speeches unfortunately.
Fortunately the other four performers gave diction- and volume-perfect performances. Zuna Newman was an upright and very believable black landlady and friend of Esther; Hannah Tibbott was the society lady, Mrs.Van Buren, who came to Esther for both her new clothes, and to feel herself and free, able to chat and express herself away from the confines and rigidity of the society of which she is a part. There was a slight frisson of lesbian excitement there too, but that was never developed or explored. Phoebe Licorish played the prostitute Mayme, who also is a customer and friend of Esther, and unknowingly finds herself with her husband as her client! Licorish is aptly-named here as her performance of this role was indeed both liquorice and liquor-ish! A lovely characterisation that lifted the dynamic of the play on her every entrance. However, for this reviewer at least, the most sincere and believable character came in the form of the Jewish cloth merchant, Mr Marks.(Jacob Bell). With Romanian ancestry, and steeped in the traditions and faith of orthodox Judaism, his meetings with Esther were the play's highlight. These scenes between Oyediran and Bell were so beautifully nuanced and considered that they literally gave me goosebumps.
A slow-burner of a play which, despite its length, kept me rapt, utterly engaged until the final words had been spoken.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 31.3.23
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