I was invited along to The Orchard Theatre tonight to see Lady Chatterley's Lover on its spring tour. This raunchy romp started with a bang of the military kind and straight away we found ourselved in the trenches in France. The set, sounds, dry ice and moody lighting all set the scene in an atmospheric and dramatic way.
We were quickly introduced to our "narrators" of the play, the multi-roleing talents of Bethan Nash as 'Hilda', 'Ivy' and 'Elsa' shone immediately with her dynamic delivery and strong stage presence, along with Tom Richardson as 'Michaelis' and 'Parish'. For me these two brought the atmosphere in which the other characters lived. I loved the way these narrator's were brought into the story, and the contrast between their reality and that of the characters at the manor.
Clifford Chatterley, paralysed in the trenches, struggles to find his identity and status from the confines of his wheelchair, which drives a wedge between him and his new wife, Constance Chatterley, in particular in the bedroom, which is the main focus of the play. We then follow Constance as she fulfils her sexual desire with a number of different men, before eventually settling on the "tender" touch of Oliver Mellors, played by Rupert Hill. Mark Hawkins plays a tortured an frustrated Clifford with confidence and often creates a lot of the darker moments within the play. Hill, as Mellors, on the other hand, is the rugged, working-class manly figure that manages to hold Lady Chatterleys attention. Lady Constance Chatterly is played by Phoebe Marshall, who had a slightly detached delivery in her acting which is the only part of the performances which confused me slightly.
The play is an exploration of sexual desire, performed in a more "arty" and relatively tame way, lots of suggestion, but stopping in time to keep it classy and not gratuitous. Some of the silhouettes of Lady Chatterly and Mellor were very striking, with the lighting adding a very artistic element, like that of a painting.
The plot is simple, the staging is too, the ensemble it steller and I definitey would recommend it for a nice evening's entertainment.
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