BWW Reviews: PLENTY, Crucible Studio, Sheffield 8 February 2011

Sheffield Theatres' David Hare season opened this week with the 1978 play Plenty, directed by Thea Sharrock and staged in the intimate Crucible Studio Theatre. The play takes us through a series of scenes in the life of Susan Traherne, whom we first meet as a secret agent working in France in World War 2 and we last see in Blackpool in 1962, as Hare explores wider themes around the sense of a loss of confidence and identity in post-war Britain through Susan's own losses and her descent into increasing madness. Susan is played expertly by Hattie Morahan who is captivating as the sharp, hilarious, broken, fragile woman. Morahan is rarely off the stage and has to master a huge amount of quick, involved dialogue and complex emotions. Her performance is a real triumph, yet she is surrounded by a cast who are equally compelling.

Edward Bennett puts in a strong turn as the conflicted, morally upright Raymond Brock who is both attracted to Susan's recklessness and feels the need to protect her from her own madness. Bruce Alexander wonderfully embodies the very British, very proper Sir Leonard Darwin, whilst Kirsty Bushell is a revelation as Susan's closest friend, bohemian Alice. The scenes with Alice and Susan are a real highlight of the show and Morahan and Bushell do real justice to Hare's dialogue as it moves rapidly between being intelligent, funny and tragic. The rest of the cast excel, even in small roles, with Laura Carmichael giving a scene-stealing performance as Louise.

The intimate setting of the Studio Theatre and the minimal set adds to the sense of tension, as if we too were guests in the homes and offices where the play is set. The intimacy is heightened by Monahan and other members of the cast engaging in rapid and ingenious costume changing onstage inbetween scenes. Despite the two hour running time (plus interval), the pace never drops, and this is in large part due to these fast scene transitions, something the main Crucible theatre also excels at.

The only thing that slightly jarred for me was that there was little sense of the age of the characters' ages changing over the eighteen-year span, although this is perhaps difficult to achieve without huge changes to hair and make-up. All in all, Plenty is a strong opening to the David Hare season and has set a high standard for the other two plays in the season, Racing Demon and The Breath of Life, to follow.

--
Plenty is at the Sheffield Crucible Studio until February 26th.
Racing Demon is at the Sheffield Crucible from February 14th to March 5th (previews February 10th and 15th).
The Breath of Life is at the Sheffield Lyceum from February 16th to 26th.
There are several special events to accompany the David Hare season. For details, see http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk