Date: Fri 14-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: SARAH

Quick Words:

Clearing-Hartford-Stage-April

Full Text:

THEATRE REVIEW: A Powerful, Timeless "Clearing" In Hartford

(with cut)

By June April

HARTFORD -- Comparable to Arthur Miller's classic play The Crucible , Hartford

Stages' current production, The Clearing , is also a powerful and timeless

production. Written by the British playwright Helen Edmundson, the insightful

and profound story heralds a new force in the pantheon of fine playwrights.

When it was first performed six years ago in London, The Clearing won the Time

Out Theatre Award and shared a John Whiting Award as well.

The basic story tells of the effect of Oliver Cromwell's reign on the Irish

people in the 17th Century. It reads like Hitler's persecution policies or the

ethnic cleansing going on today. But it also explores the meaning of love,

loyalty and respect between friends and spouses.

The power of women is strongly stated in this production. Ms Edmundson's

sensitivity to struggle and empathy with justice is inherent in her writing.

Director Tracy Brigden has also grasped the poetic power in this play, and

brings to audiences a deeply visceral experience that leaves people intensely

impacted. This is theatre at its best; it is theatre making a mark on one's

life.

The set is primarily trees, with a "cut-out" house that is raised or lowered

depending on whether an interior or exterior scene. Minimal props are

effective, leaving no doubt the locale of the setting. Jeff Cowie's talents as

a scenic designer reflect his Rhode Island School of Design training.

The period costumes designed by Susan Hilferty are worthy of awards, both in

construction and accuracy. They were heightened by the effective lighting

skills of Howell Binkley.

As the English Lord Robert Preston, Stevie Ray Dallimore intensely absorbs the

angst and rationalizations of his character's quandary. Where should his

loyalties go? To his wife, or to his own preservation by disassociating with

the so-called traitors, once close friends? (Are there echoes strongly heard

here from the horrors of the McCarthy era?)

There is a line spoken in the beginning of Act IV by Sir Charles Sturman,

Cromwell's representative in Ireland, in which Sturman says of the Irish:

"...Why do we not bury them in pits so deep they will be forgotten?..." It

rings a too painfully resonant bell for Africa, Yugoslavia, Asia, our own

Southern history and more...

Brilliantly credible portrayals were handed in by every actor. Alyssa

Bresnahan is marvelous as Preston's fiery Irish wife Madeleine. Though she is

devoted to their son and the lifestyle of the wife of an English Lord, her

Irish roots and her sense of justice and loyalty are untarnished.

Joseph Costa and Sandra Shipley played close friends and neighbors of the

Prestons. An older couple, they seek the legal avenues to preserve their life

and land.

Simon Brooking, whose role as Pierce Kinsellagh symbolizes the Irish rebels

and their determination in the face of overwhelming odds to hold onto their

homeland, is also wonderful. Innocent victims abound, as in all crises.

Patricia Dunnock's part as Killaine Farrell, Madeleine's dearest friend,

heightens the impact on choices one makes in the face of danger.

Representing the English power in the personage of Sir Charles Sturman, the

actor Sam Catlin masterfully plays cat-and-mouse games with the Irish, casting

hope where there is none, and tearing people's lives apart with one stroke of

his quill pen. His emotional range is riveting and he is essential in spinning

the web that ensnares.

Multiple smaller roles are played by Steve Juergens, with varying accents and

manners. Mr Juergens knows how to use body and voice to create very different

characters.

The Clearing plays at the Hartford Stage until May 16. It is some of the very

finest theatre this reviewer has seen there, and one of the very best of any

theatre seen this season. For tickets and further information, call

860/527-5151.