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Review: Bird Grove (Hampstead Theatre)

Review by Sam Waite

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Published under the pseudonym George Eliot, Mary Ann Evans spent much of her life pushing against the constraints of what a 19th century woman was expected to be, and how one was expected to behave. In his new play Bird Grove, premiering at Hampstead Theatre, Alexi Kaye Campbell explores not the literary greatness to come, but the ordinary life which shaped Ms Evans’ passions and the conflicts which would arise from the stubbornness of both her and her father’s convictions.


 

In the early 1840s, Mary Ann is a young woman of marrying age, and as such we meet first her brother, Isaac, and father, Robert. Isaac has come for tea at Bird Grove, the father and daughter’s residence, to which he has invited an unwed friend who is eager to request Mary Ann’s hand in marriage. Of course, the idea of a simple and traditional courtship is quickly dismissed as Mary’s preference for non-traditional living, and sheer disinterest in her gentleman caller, set up not only a brutal dismissal but the complexities of her and Robert’s cohabitation as a pious, conventional father and, well… Mary Ann.

 

Campbell’s script paints Robert as both protective of his daughter’s individuality and frustrated by her determination to stray from the path more travelled. He is all too ready to literally hurl an unpleasant suitor out of their home, but furious to the point of demanding that she leave when Mary Ann declares that her visits alongside him to church – through which he hopes to present her as respectable and marriageable – will be coming to an end. Mary Ann herself is drawn in shades of stubbornness and of contrition, fiercely determined to live as her authentic self but devoted enough to her father that she will compromise.

 

Owen Teale brings a gruffness to Robert that allows the audience to immediately recognise this character, the midlands father who is well-to-do enough but still just that bit rougher around the edges that the uppity types who would try to woo Mary Ann. There is enough warmth in his manner that his harsher words towards her carry a genuine sting, and the stakes of his anger are never in doubt. There’s a slight flip-flopping quality to Robert, owing to his conflicting wants to let Mary Ann be herself and also to ensure she marries well, but Teale carries the part with enough internal conflict that this seems merely a fact of the character’s life. His rough edges also contrast nicely with Jolyon Coy’s more straight-laced portrayal, which gives Isaac a quality of being brought up “better” than his father was, and the actor allows the implicit comparisons to quietly inform Isaac’s more mannered treatment of his sister.

 

Strong supporting work comes from Rebecca Scroggs, as a strong-willed friend, and particularly Sarah Woodward, who does marvellous work both comedically and dramatically as a teacher-turned-friend to the family who lands some truly brilliant comic moments while advancing the tension of a pivotal scene. Elsewhere, despite the early successes of Coy’s performance, the supporting cast have too little to do to truly make their mark. Jonnie Broadbent is a fun addition as the ill-fated suitor, but the character is a touch too one-note for him to truly excel, or for the character to leave a lasting impression.

 

In the role of Mary Ann, Elizabeth Dulau manages to carry a sense of quiet defiance alongside the traditionalism the character’s life requires. She has an amusing back and forth with Broadbent’s Mr Garfield in an effort not to be alone with him, and is convincing in her devotion to her father, particularly as the plot advances through his final years. Throughout, Dulau handles the delicate balance of longing for more and contentment with life as it is, and this agreeable quality is what lends her more fiery, devastated moments their power. The friendship between Mary Ann and her friend Cara Bray also carries a genuine warmth, thanks to a strong chemistry between Dulau and Rebecca Scroggs.

 

With Campbell’s script covering scenes early in Mary Ann’s 20s and later in or approaching her 30s, the supporting characters do have a slightly indistinct quality, seemingly being there to fill out crowded afternoon teas and to remind us that women were, in the eyes of the time, an extension of their husbands and fathers more so than individuals in their own right. While most of the characters (and therefore the actors) have a moment or two to shine, it does seems a shame to not have more observing with the father-daughter dynamic, adding subtler shades to their alternate affections and conflicts.


 

Director Anna Ledwich does a fine job of manoeuvring her cast around Sarah Beaton’s attractive, revolving set, making clear decisions about the spacing and layout of Bird Grove. Early scenes between Isaac and Mr Garfield are stiff and overly mannered, which it becomes clear later was a deliberate choice from Ledwich, who achieves a far more natural flow in staging conversations where the less stuffy father and daughter are heavily involved. Running at around 2 hours and 40 minutes (with an interval, of course!) Bird Grove never feels too slow, with Ledwich keeping a firm command of the show’s pace from start to finish, although a moment towards the end has an intrusive quality to it that she unfortunately isn’t able to sidestep, in spite of the strong close she brings the work to.

 

Bird Grove raises interesting points around responsibility to oneself versus to others, and the precarious balance of a life lived authentically while also compromising enough to maintain relationships. Much of it ends at talking points, particularly the supposed influence of the Brays, and Mary Ann’s future career as Eliot is raised chiefly through an awkward, immersion-shaking moment towards the end. Campbell and Leswich have shaped an endlessly watchable, often witty piece of theatre, even as its critiques of the times do lack some bite.

 

Fronted by a strong turn from Elizabeth Dulau and a well-matched dynamic between her and Owen Teale, Bird Grove is an interesting and engaging look at life before George Eliot became George Eliot. Not everything quite comes together as intended but there is enough wit, charm, and talent on display to make for a well-spent evening, and to inspire those of us less widely read to consider Middlemarch as a future read.

 

Bird Grove plays at Hampstead Theatre until March 21st

 

 

Photos by Johan Persson

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