The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

The action takes place partly in London, but mostly in Lyme Regis where it was filmed, and the iconic image of a hooded and cloaked Meryl Streep, alone on the Cobb and gazing out to sea with the waves crashing around her, is amazingly well created on stage with the aid of some very dramatic sound effects and lighting (Matt McKenzie and Chris Davey respectively) aided by atmospheric music composed by Paul Englishby.

The only two down-to-earth characters are, as you would expect, the maid (Maimie McCoy) and manservant Sam (Sam Talbot) both well portrayed. Hannah Youngs Ernestina is spoilt and flirtatious, and her suitor Charles (Anthony Howell) is a woodenly upright and correct English gentleman until confronted with his inner uncontrollable passion.

Poultney played from a wheelchair and with rather over-emphasis by an Anne Kavanagh who looks too young and agreeable for the part however much she tries to be a dried up old misery spitting out self-righteous venom. The characters are, on the whole, one dimensional not necessarily a fault with an exploration of the Victorian attitudes to love, sex and marriage taken from a modern viewpoint each one emphasising a particular attribute and pointing out the class and location differences which were even more relevant at the time. Grogan and trying out different accents until he settles on the one he thinks most correct for the part. Sometimes he even tosses a coin to decide which way the plot should continue, and sometimes puts himself into the action to determine the viewpoint from the inside, at one point taking over the role of Dr.

In Libby Watsons ingeniously intricate multi-level set the actors play out their parts, constantly aided by the writer putting relevant objects into their hands and words into their mouths, to the amusement of the audience. This British Premier stage production I believe sticks more closely to the book - a bewildered writer (George Irving) finding his characters spinning around in his head until he begins to sort them out and some of the stronger ones even take over the story, this being the case with the lead character who appeals to the author for direction, but as the play progresses begins to take charge of her own fate and feelings in spite of her creator. Written in 1969, and inspired by an 1823 French novel Ourika, the book won the WH Smith Literary Award of 1970 and was regarded as the most important literary event of the period.Īdapted as a film in 1981, with screenplay by Harold Pinter and starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons, it was a huge hit in with its double love story, the same two characters portraying their roles in Victorian England and in the present day.

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles