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Passion, mystery and laughs
Imogen Sage as Mrs de Winter Number Two having a
horizontal exchange of views with her new husband Maxim played by
Tristan Sturrock. Rebecca
Malvern Theatres
**** LAST night I dreamt of Manderley, a
Manderley with a very Cornish feel, with charismatic comical servants
and fisherman singing atmospheric songs. This is not my imagination, this is the Manderley
according to Kneehigh Theatre Company in its innovative and compelling
version of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca - A study in jealousy. It carries the usual Kneehigh tell-tale signs of
humour, live music, song and puppetry plus the company's ability to add
a spark of uniqueness to well-known classics. It's the essence of Rebecca but with a twist. Based in Truro, the company has brought a piece
of Cornwall with it on tour. You can practically smell the sea that Du
Maurier put at the centre of her infamous thrilling brief story. The action takes place on a fantastic set. It
merges the grandeur of Manderley house with the rocks of the rugged
Cornish coastline. Amid the rocks, fishermen play haunting melodies on
violins and sing shanties. Here we find widower Maxim de Winter (Tristan
Sturrock, recently of Poldark), who has married a shy, young
impressionable woman (Imogen Sage) just a year after his first wife's
death to the surprise of his staff and haughty relatives. Hearing tales of the beautiful first wife,
Rebecca, from grim housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Rebecca’s biggest fan) the
new Mrs de Winter is paralysed with self-doubt and jealousy, which
causes friction in her new marriage. What's new about this production is that while it
gives a nod to the famous Alfred Hitchcock film, it adds a fresh
dimension of humour and greater emphasis to characters on the sidelines. Maxim's sister Beatrice and brother-in-law Giles
are a hoot thanks to actors Lizzie Winkler and Andy Williams. They are the Hooray Henry and Henrietta of the
piece with lashings of whiskey and soda. Meanwhile, the servants are a
charming bunch, particularly the young petite Welsh manservant Ben, who
loves everyone and races to answer the telephone so he can tell intimate
details of his mother's menopausal problems. Ben is played with wonderful comic timing by Katy
Owen and apparently hers is the only role allowed to ad lib the lines
each night. Director Emma Rice has added a few new
interpretations too. The stark change in behaviour of the new Mrs de
Winter after she has discovers the truth is more sinister than Mrs
Danvers. Emily Raymond plays the housekeeper more as a loyal aunt than
the psychopathic obsessive in the film. All in all, it's a clever reworked version of
Rebecca with a distinctive Cornish flavour that Du Maurier's own son
said his mother would have enjoyed. To 09-05-15. Alison Brinkworth.
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