'They are not long, the days of wine and roses,' so insists Ernest Dowson's evocative poem that lends its title to J P Miller's bittersweet play. First written in 1958 for television it subsequently transferred to the screen with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick as the couple whose marriage is quite literally destroyed by the intoxicating power of drink. The play's scope is now much more intimate as the cast of supporting characters only exist as a frame of reference for the young couple whose relationship begins when they meet by chance at Belfast airport in 1962, each poised on the brink of an exciting new chapter in their lives. Courtesy of writer Owen McCafferty's new version, the action is now set in London and the time is the Sixties with a pulsating medley of hits signalling the passing years.
Donal works for a bookie, Mona is a civil servant and teetotaller. They share aspirations of a new life in the capital, enjoying flirtatious banter and - fatefully- a sip from Donal's hip-flask. Such an apparently innocuous action has profound consequences as drink swiftly becomes a crutch for both, soon undermining the fun and laughter of their early days as addiction takes firm hold of their lives.
Directed by Peter Gill, Miller's tale as filtered by McCafferty is both powerful and emotionally bruising, the close confines of the Donmar freshly emphasising the harrowing breakdown of the couple's once-close relationship. Donal eventually finds a way to sidestep the bottle but his wife takes his renunciation of drink as a personal rejection, further fuelling her disintegration. Anne-Marie Duff and Peter McDonald are both very persuasive in their respective roles, although McCafferty's pace means that the play's outcome is never really in doubt from early on and this dissipates the necessary dramatic tension. It's only in the poignant final scenes where the couple have to face the reality of their relationship that you feel properly emotionally engaged, and though the acting is strong, a more fluid narrative would ultimately give more satisfaction.
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