Theatre Review - Letter from an Unknown Woman
Natalie Simpson and James Corrigan in Visit From an Unknown Woman [Marc Brenner]
CHRISTOPHER Hampton’s adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s 1922 novella, Letter from an Unknown Woman, moves the action to 1934. Zweig was a philanderer and Hampton alludes to this by naming the male protagonist Stefan.
A successful Austrian-Jewish writer, Stefan (James Corrigan courageously stepping in at short notice) is feted at home and abroad. He travels widely, dines at his favourite Viennese restaurants when home, and is waited upon by his faithful valet Johann (Nigel Hastings). But the encroaching shadow of Nazism threatens to disrupt his comfortable existence and career.
The play opens with the arrival of Stefan and a young woman, Marianne (Natalie Simpson) at his bachelor apartment. Both are merry and enjoy a mutual seduction. The following day we learn he has no idea of her name.
A year later, Marianne visits Stefan and relates a shocking tale of a girl’s infatuation for a talented writer, who she has loved since the day her family moved into the next door apartment. It’s a discomforting account of thwarted passion and unrequited love.
Stefan is a careless lover, who effortlessly wins and break hearts, without thinking too much about the consequences. But Marianne reminds him of his callousness, while sweetly professing her love.
Is she an obsessive stalker, a character hell-bent on revenge or an impressionable young woman whose naïve passion has been exploited?
Hampton leaves it open to interpretation and this ambiguity is the main strength of this short, beguiling drama.
Chelsea Walker’s taut production is well served by Rosanna Vize’s elegant set design, complete with a heap of withered white roses, Bethany Gupwell’s evocative lighting and Peter Rice’s nuanced sound.
The political ferment of the time feels slightly irrelevant in a story that is essentially about obsession, but this haunting drama lingers with you.
Until July 27