The Sacred Flame
Tour - The Nuffield Theatre, Southampton
The Sacred Flame is an unfamiliar play to me and Director Matthew Dunster has decided to “strip away ‘the chintz and the chaises-longues’” to bring this to the stage. I was interested in seeing this being done by the company that produced a great production of The Hypochondriac.
The play is a whodunit story with a twist, where the mystery is solved before 'Poirot' or 'Miss Marple' turns up. The play discusses the consequences that would follow a murder investigation. Even the
innocent are dragged in, culminating in revelations that make for an emotionally overwhelming ending. However at times the play felt convoluted as so many themes were brought up in a short space of time.
The cast is on the whole very good. For the short amount
of time he has, Jamie de Courcey was a lively, but pained, Maurice Tabret. Sarah
Churm also gives a fine performance as the frank and obedient, yet kind and
faithful Nurse Wayland. Robert Demeger was a jovial Major Liconda, but he gradually
takes a sincere and scrutinizing role in the mystery. Margot Leicester played a caring mother as Mrs Tabret, who was slightly in a world of her own and was therefore not as shocked by events as others.
Al Nedjari was a calm and firm Doctor Harvester, but as doubts are made as to whether Maurice died of natural causes he became strained with impatience and frustration. Beatriz Romilly was an energetic and bright Stella Tabret, who gradually breaks down and becomes terribly distressed as the plot thickens. Yet her pronunciation was rather stilted as she attempted to project a received pronunciation accent.
Al Nedjari was a calm and firm Doctor Harvester, but as doubts are made as to whether Maurice died of natural causes he became strained with impatience and frustration. Beatriz Romilly was an energetic and bright Stella Tabret, who gradually breaks down and becomes terribly distressed as the plot thickens. Yet her pronunciation was rather stilted as she attempted to project a received pronunciation accent.
With all that happens the white and sterile set of an art deco house becomes an travesty of itself. At times of tension, the overall color scheme changes strikingly. Also to ratchet up the tension a humming sound can be heard during moments when the characters reveal events from the past.
The revelations that lead up to the end is worth seeing alone,
and the cast is also very good on the whole. Just expect a few convoluted moments along the way. This is worth a high Bargain
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