A Play, A Pie, And A Pint is a series that was founded in 2004 and produces 38 new plays a year each one starting life at their home of Òran Mór in Glasgow. The series returns to Sherman Cymru with a brand new play by Michael-Alan Read, Mr and Mrs Laughton.
The play tells the story of Charles Laughton and his wife Elsa Lanchester. The RADA trained Laughton’s more famous contributions include Mutiny on the Bounty and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Despite some great success, including Bride of Frankenstein and The Private Life of Henry VIII (with Charles in the title role), Elsa’s career seemed to play second fiddle to her husband’s. So much was the case that after he died her career resumed starting with 1964’s Mary Poppins.
Read’s script presents the conflicted relationship between the pair in a swift montage giving glimpses into various stages of the couple’s complicated marriage. The play concentrates mainly on problems deriving from Charles’ homosexuality and extra-marital affairs with men several years his junior.
Read is clever in his use of language, which is the main source of dramatic action in this production. I would question the brevity of the play. It seemed too short to be a worthwhile exposé and it lacked the development needed to do more than just scratch the surface. I left both needing and wanting more.
The set (Jonathan Scott) is a little confusing in its design. A pale blue winged structure stands at the back of the stage and there didn’t seem any rhyme or reason for it. The rug and bench would have been quite enough here. The action is placed up on rostra which doesn’t seem to quite fit. It may be better served, and interesting things may start to happen, should it be put in the round.
However, the roles of Charles (Steven McNicoll) and Elsa (Abigail McGibbon) were delivered beautifully. McGibbon played Elsa with a particular brokenness that makes your heart ache in her more vulnerable moments. Her dignified resignation to Charles’ infidelity is heartrending. This is interrupted with some wonderful moments of comic timing bouncing off McNicoll’s formidable Laughton.
McNicoll also plays a very entertaining and blustery Charles making great use of his ‘Shakespearean’ timbre of voice. He sometimes slips into caricature or parody, which at times fits but it hid some of what could have been quieter moments of intimacy.
Whatever of its imperfections there are enough laughs to be entertained but perhaps all too briefly being just 35 minutes in length. There is room for this play to grow and I hope they take the opportunity to develop this as I think there is something special could be made here.
Images: Leslie Black