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THEATRE REVIEW: Driving Miss Daisy @Theatre Royal

Driving Miss Daisy

Theatre Royal

Set in Atlanta, Georgia, the story begins one day in 1948 when a prickly, 72-year-old Jewish widow, Daisy Werthan, crashes her car.  Deemed too old to drive, her son hires her a chauffeur, an African-American named Hoke Colburn. Daisy and Hoke’s relationship gets off to a rocky start, but as times change across the course of a 25 year backdrop of prejudice, inequality and civil unrest, a profound and life-altering friendship blossoms.

It’s more than 30 years since the play written by Alfred Uhry & the award winning film first gained its reputation and this celebration tour is impeccable, stripped back to its essentials.

This is a perfectly balanced cast, Sian Phillips as Miss Daisy captures the fierce but fragile nature of this woman whose humble beginnings and comfortable retirement dictate her relationship with the outside world.  Derek Griffiths as her driver Hoke Colburn who ages and changes along with her is terrific, and the two of them get the accents and attention to detail just right.  The eye contact, the pauses, the deference, the challenges,  are all superb reflections of the South Georgia of its day, and although Griffiths gets the best laughs, it’s the careful and inevitable descent into  delicate brittle old age which Phillips nails with utter grace and charm.  Griffiths and Phillips have a believable relationship which starts with grudging good manners and ends with heart-breaking tenderness and care. They both look out and look after each other and become each other’s greatest friends and this ongoing friendship – which jumps through decades as the play progresses – is handled well by this stellar pairing. Teddy Kempner  portrayal of Daisy’s son  Boolie is a masterclass in deferral as well, it’s understated and allows the true focus of this story to remain on the principal pair whilst giving the plot just enough of a push along and keeping the narrative tension pleasantly taught each time he appears.  These three are directed by Richard Beecham in a uncomplicated way allowing the splendid acting to glow.

The play is a lovely handling of a horrible subject at a distance and although it’s been truncated there’s still enough ugliness in the world that these characters inhabit to bring the horror home. Both characters hold stereotyped attitudes which are challenged by the actions and behaviour of the others experience and then the connections of them both belonging to minorities being the targets of hate: the bombing of Daisy’s synagogue, the lynching of the father of Hoke’s childhood friend, the pernicious and pervading WASP attitudes and subtle white supremacy attitudes are all explored from different points of view, and all with a sheen of good southern manners.

Although the play was written more than thirty years ago, it’s soft but persistent message of hope, working hard to challenge prejudice and calling it out for what it is still relevant. It’s the steely softness of this play which makes it relevant, it’s so utterly polite in many ways and that masks the ugliness of racial segregation and the casual racist attitudes of the time.

My companion left welled up with tears, Phillips’s portrayal of Daisy in her twilight days is beautiful, touching & tender, capturing her humour and fragility at the same time and the final scene of Hoke feeding Miss Daisy her Thanksgiving pie is beautiful and touch perfect.

The set is simple, and subtle lights, sound scape and music give ambience and setting without any fuss at all, the car is a wheel on a stand, but it really doesn’t matter with this pair in the driving seat of this play.  There were a few sound hiccups and both the first act and end of the play were hasty; a slow lights down and moment to reflect would have ended much better than a hasty leap up for the applause.

Driving Miss Daisy reminds us of the cycles of human hatred and violence, how we can change them by changing ourselves, that little things matter and that the horrible times of the past are still relevant to us living today, more so considering the ugly rise in intolerance and hatred once again, but it’s a beautiful tender exploration of trust friendship and uplifting to watch.

Until Saturday, September 23

Theatre Royal

Brighton

New Road

 

 

 

Fundraiser for Brighton Women’s Centre

There will be a Fabulous Charity Cabaret Fundraiser for Brighton Women’s Centre on Saturday, September 23 @ The Brunswick Pub, Hove.

Hosted by Annabelszki, artists appearing include: Alice Frick, Sha Wylie, Sian Davis, Lynn Ruth Miller, King Frankie Sinatra and The Cheer Up Mollys.


Event: A fabulous night of comedy and music raising money for the Brighton Women’s Centre

Where: The Brunswick Pub, Hove

When: Saturday, September 23

Time: Doors7.30, show arts at 8pm

Cost: £14/12

To book tickets online, click here:

Last chance to buy a Snowdog!

Martlets Hospice, a charity that cares for people living through a terminal illness in and around Brighton & Hove, is offering you one last chance to buy a Snowdog puppy at its glamorous Halloween Ball at Brighton’s Grand Hotel on the evening of Saturday, October 28.

Norman Cook with Disco Dog

Marilyn Monroe will be making an appearance so guests can expect cheeky humour, songs and her trademark shimmy in a glitzy entertainment line-up that includes the band 29 Fingers and the Master of Ceremonies, Steve Bustin.

Emma Knight, organiser, said: “There are still a few tickets left for our Halloween Ball, so now’s the time to sign-up. It’s the last chance you’ll ever have to bid for a Snowdog puppy, designed by Brighton artists Steve Mason and Jason McQuillen.

“It’s going to be quite a night, with dancing until the small hours, raising money that will help us to care for local families.”

For tickets and more information, click here: 

CPS announcement concerns male victims of domestic abuse

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published its first ever public statement recognising the needs and experiences of male victims of offences including rape, domestic abuse, harassment, stalking and child sexual abuse.

Written in partnership with the ManKind Initiative, Survivors Manchester and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of West London, Dr Ben Hine, the statement’s key issues include:

♦     Providing information for prosecutors to help challenge myths and stereotypes; understanding the experience of male victims within the criminal justice system; and providing details of support services for male victims

♦    Exploring issues that may arise because of multiple forms of discrimination such as those faced by (black, Asian, and minority ethnic) or LGBT victims

♦     Ensuring all relevant policies, guidance, training and case studies for prosecutors contain details on the experience of male victims and outlining any unique barriers to reporting;

♦     Working with NGOs and Communications to consider ways to dispel societal myths, especially around masculinity, as well as responding to media issues;

♦    Involving more national men’s groups in the scrutiny of CPS policies, guidance and training and within the VAWG External Consultation Group;

♦     Establishing a stakeholder forum on child sexual abuse to specifically ensure that work expressly includes boys as well as girls;

♦    Reflecting the male experience of these crimes, in relevant media communications, by working closely with men’s groups, to increase confidence in reporting; and

♦    Providing data on male victims where possible and, with partners, striving to improve the gender and relationship breakdown of CPS relevant data.

Mark Brooks, Chair of the ManKind Initiative, said: “The public statement, and the commitments it makes, are landmark moments for male victims of crimes such as domestic abuse, stalking and forced marriage.

“We are very pleased with the CPS for sending a clear and inclusive message to both the criminal justice system, and to society as a whole, about the need to ensure male victims are recognised.

“I am certain this statement will encourage more men to come forward with the full confidence of the positive support and acknowledgement they will receive when they do so.”

The ManKind Initiative is a charity helping men escape domestic abuse.

For more information, click here:

To see the full statement, click here:

 

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