Theatre Review - Angry and Young: Roots; Look Back in Anger

Morfydd Clark in Roots [Marc Brenner]

THE radical explorations of class and gender at the heart of John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger and Arnold Wesker’s Roots helped to change British theatre for ever.

It’s clever programming by the Almeida to stage revivals of both 1950s plays in rep, using one ensemble, as part of their “Angry and Young” season.

In Roots, Beatie (a compelling performance from Morfydd Clark) is visiting her family in rural Norfolk. Inspired by her new life in London, all she can talk about is her socialist activist boyfriend, Ronnie, who they anxiously await to meet.

There’s a beautifully nuanced opening scene with her home-loving sister Jenny (Eliot Salt) as she prepares their supper.

Over the course of two weeks, Beattie frequently quotes the unseen Ronnie, and his ideas, berating her family for being narrow-minded.

Much of the play’s humour comes from Beatie’s interactions with her long-suffering mother (an utterly credible Sophie Stanton), who just wants to get on with her domestic chores while Beattie tries to culturally “educate” her.

In Diyan Zora’s assured production the action is played out on a circular stage with minimal furniture, the cast pass up props when needed, while a slow revolve lasts for the duration of each act.

Billy Howle and Ellora Torchia in Look Back in Anger [Marc Brenner]

Using the same circular staging (with the addition of a pit evoking a moral abyss) Atri Banerjee has a hard task to make Look Back in Anger appealing for a contemporary female audience.

Bored and disillusioned, working-class Jimmy Porter (Billy Howle) resentfully runs a sweet stall with his friend and lodger Cliff (Iwan Davies).

He takes out his frustrations on his middle-class wife Alison (Ellora Torchia), who irons his clothes and endures his tirades, mostly in silence.

When Helena (Clark) comes to stay and witnesses Jimmy’s treatment of Alison, she persuades her friend to leave, but the cycle of domestic abuse continues.

A talented cast illuminate both productions and the characters’ anger at life’s injustices continue to resonate.

Until November 23
almeida.co.uk

Originally published by Islington Tribune