THEATRE Review of London’s Theatre Productions by Lydia Parker The Price at Wyndham’s Theatre
After many UK revivals of Arthur Miller’s most popular plays, such All My Sons, A View from the Bridge and The Crucible, is it refreshing to see a lesser known work, The Price, from 1968, brought to explosive life in Jonathan Church’s excellent production. Inspired by events from his own life, this family drama looks at the price one pays in life for the decisions that one makes. Middle aged policeman Vic has come to his father’s old New York brownstone before it is torn down to meet a used furniture dealer, hoping to sell everything off as one lot. His father died sixteen years ago and the place is full of memories: a fencing blade that Vic used to compete with, his mother’s old harp, a bizarre record of laughing, as well as old furniture literally piled up the wall. Vic’s glamorous and slightly drunk wife Esther joins him, demanding that he take whatever he can get and not share the proceeds with his wealthy surgeon brother, Walter. Esther, who is clearly unhappy in their marriage and doesn’t know what to do with her life, insists that Vic needs to sort out his own plans after retirement. Both appear to be stuck, disappointed with the paths their lives have taken; as Esther says “It’s like pushing against a door for twenty-five years and then it opens and we stand there, waiting to live.” Vic dropped out of studying science at university to look after his father who lost everything in the crash of 1929 while his brother Walter went to medical school. Esther used to write poetry and misses their son who is studying at MIT. She feels cheated but doesn’t seem to know what she wants other than money. When Gregory Solomon finally arrives to make an assessment, neither quite know what to make of the charming eighty-nine-year-old who claims to have once been an acrobat and had three, possibly four wives. Vic is inclined to trust his prognosis that the furniture is bulky and out of fashion and therefore worth far less. As Solomon says, it’s so well made, it cannot break, “today everything has to be disposable”. Esther is sceptical and thinks he’s cheating them so that he can sell it on for far more. Just as Vic makes a deal with Solomon, who counts out hundred dollar bills, in walks Walter. Despite not having seen Vic since their father died nor even returned his phone calls about the possible sale, he has turned up with his own proposition. Walter treats Solomon like a figure of fun and the power dynamic switches as he 22
AMERICAN IN BRITAIN
Brendan Coyle and Sara Stewart in The Price. Photo credit Nobby Clark
and Esther openly laugh at him, completely dismissing any deal Vic may have already made. The layers are soon peeled back on Walter’s seemingly perfect life and old resentments rise to the surface as the two brothers and Esther try to examine the past and decide on their futures. This is a well-crafted play with complex characters and dialogue that rings true. The arguments between the brothers seem to go in circles in the second half – just when you think they’ve had a reconciliation, more past hurts and misunderstandings are dragged up. However, this is probably a reality in most sibling relationships so perhaps one can’t fault the playwright for not trimming the dialogue. Brendan Coyle, familiar to many as Mr Bates in Downton Abbey, brings the right gruffness and bottled up emotion to Vic, a strong man who has had to carry others for so many years and is now at a breaking point. He beautifully conveys a character who is thoughtful yet not used to introspection, always doing what he thinks is morally right. Adrian Lukis (Mr Wickham from the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice) hits just the right notes of a man who thought he had it all and now feels empty and confused. He veers from being impossibly full of himself to completely drained
of any energy or direction. Sara Stewart as the passionate and impulsive Esther impresses from her first entrance as she shows off a new expensive suit she has just bought, looking like Marilyn Monroe. Although slightly one note in her despondency, she manages to maintain some sense of humour amidst her disappointment. One gets the feeling that all three of these characters are self-destructive while blaming their misfortunes on each other. David Suchet gives the performance of a lifetime as Gregory Solomon, at once wily, warm hearted, highly intelligent and very funny. When he suddenly pulls a hardboiled egg out of his pocket in the middle of negotiations and proceeds to calmly eat it, asking if there might be some salt somewhere, it is a priceless moment. Although he is in a back room for most of the second half, he still makes appearances, interceding in the middle of heated family battles to give advice. It is no surprise that a well written family drama like The Price survives the test of time and still resonates today. Miller is a master playwright who was never afraid to ask the big questions about the paths we choose to follow in life and the responsibilities we choose to take. Don’t miss this brilliant production.