This is essentially a photographed version of the production presented on stage at the Almeida in Islington and subsequently transferred to the West End. Being the work of Terence Rattigan we take stagecraft for granted and in Hester Collyer he created a part fit to stand alongside Blanche du Bois as a role that actresses covet. Alas, I never saw Peggy Ashcroft who played Hester in the original version in 1952 and it's worth noting that when it came time to film the play (1955 in this case) Ashcroft lost out to Vivien Leigh just as Jessica Tandy had when they came to film Streetcar. For reasons that elude me (perhaps I should get out more) Anatole Litvak's film version, in which Kenneth More recreated on film the role that made him a star - again as Brando did in Streetcar - remains stubbornly elusive, even beyond the reach (presumably, why else to account for its omission from the current Rattigan mini season) of the BFI but it is being filmed for the big screen even as we speak, in the meantime the play is revived regularly and we do have this version now playing in the Mediateque at South Bank. It's packed with faces that were then or are now familiar to theatregoers and TV viewers from Ian Holm, then married to Penelope Wilton, Carmel McSharry, Imogen Stubbs, Stephen Tomkinson, and current 'hot' property Colin Firth who can't quite bring off the breezy charm that came so effortlessly to Kenny More. Penny Wilton tries her damnedest as Hester and gets about 85% of the character but as with the majority of Rattigan's plays they tend to be actor proof and are delightful to watch.
Review of The Deep Blue Sea
