The Other Theatre Company’s production of Quartet - 11 to 13 April 2013 at Plumley Village Hall - was a brave choice by director Sophia Kennedy considering the recent film release. TOTC gave us the original play, nominated for a Laurence Olivier award in 2000, with four characters whilst the film had a much larger cast.
The play is set in a home for retired opera singers and we meet Wilf (Roger Barlow) whose chief characteristic is his pre-occupation with sex, which is clearly wishful thinking, Cissie (Margaret Leslie) who is slightly batty and has a fixation that everyone she knows has recently arrived from Karachi and Reggie (Harry Kennedy) whose philosophy on life is that ‘Art is meaningless if it does not make you feel’.
The tenor of their days is shattered by the arrival of Jean (Rebecca Taylor) who is simply distraught at having to be in a home at all, but particularly one which has ‘chorus singers and orchestral players in abundance but few virtuosi’. We also learn that Jean was once married to Reggie; although she has been married several times since to a list of artists known to them all. Reggie’s distress at Jean’s arrival is typified by his comment that ‘old age helps you forget that which should be forgotten’.
Essentially, the play is a hymn to human frailty. The characters think of themselves as an exclusive club and each finds it difficult to accept that their talents have largely deserted them. They believe themselves to be trapped in the home but in reality they are trapped by their own senility with only the annual concert to celebrate Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday to set them free.
During Act II, Reggie, Wilf and Cissie try to persuade Jean to make up a foursome to sing the ‘Quartet’ from Rigoletto on 10 October, Verdi’s birthday. They believe that this will provide a purpose to their lives which will help them to face the future. Jean displays great distress and finally owns up to the fact that she hasn’t sung for thirty years and what’s worse, the last time she attempted to sing no notes came out!
So they decide to do the unthinkable and the play ends with a virtuoso performance of the Quartet from Rigoletto – yes really!
Most of the play was performed in the round but the use of the stage for the operatic performance provided an excellent finale. The characters were well cast and portrayed their human frailties sympathetically. The poignancy of people who had once been famous but who had aged so quickly they didn’t have time to change was evident throughout the performance. Inspired direction from Sophia Kennedy!
Quartet was another excellent production by The Other Theatre Company which is to be congratulated on the diversity of works which make up its distinguished repertoire.
For more information about this production, please see our Past Productions page for Quartet.