Marta Dusseldorp and Paul Capsis. Photo: Daniel Boud
Marta Dusseldorp is wonderful as Hester Collyer in this STC production of The Deep Blue Sea, ably directed by Paige Rattray and which commands attention from the outset with its imposing and memorable set and sound design (David Fleischer and James Brown). At once the audience is brought into the loneliness and prison of Hester’s 1950s, post-war world as the walls literally close around her semi-conscious form.
The fractures and societal pressures in post-war Britain are on display in The Deep Blue Sea, where a country disrupted by war is adjusting – or trying not to adjust – its rules and its class structure in a new world. Hester had a respectable but loveless marriage, and she has left it. Not only has she left Sir William (Matt Day), a High Court judge no less, but she has left him for Freddie (Fayssal Bazzi), a man who has no job, who seems unable to express his love for her and worse, is not of the same class. At least in that contemporary view. When Freddie’s ardour wanes, Hester is stranded emotionally, caught up in the mores of her time when women were not expected to express their sexual desires openly, still less behave as anything other than ‘loving wives’. As for homosexuality, well that was even worse. (It’s no secret that the first draft of The Deep Blue Sea was based on a relationship between Rattigan and his then lover.)
Neither Sir Willian nor Freddie can help Hes, nor indeed save her from the dictates of 1950s society – but she does have neighbours.
These are a diverse bunch, ranging from the almost obligatory nosey, do-good busybodies (and aptly named) Mr and Mrs Welch (Brandon McClelland and Contessa Treffone) to the much more empathetic landlady Mrs Elton (Vanessa Downing ) and a defrocked doctor Mr Miller (Paul Capsis).
Rattigan has made Hes a brave, complex and nuanced woman, one who is prepared to challenge the odds in order to define herself, whatever the consequences, and Dusseldorp portrays her love, despair and desperation beautifully. Day’s stiff-upper-lip and dull Sir William works perfectly, as does Downing’s quietly compassionate Mrs Elton.
Unlike Hes, however, I found myself wanting a lot less of Bazzi’s Freddie, especially when he was in full on ranting, whisky-bottle emptying mode. His histrionics are counterbalanced by his mate Jackie’s (Charles Garber) calmer insights and attempts at moderation.
Capsis’s Miller is also calm, and interesting. His character’s homosexuality is never in question (and the unstated reason for his no longer being able to practise as a doctor) in a portrayal that would not have been allowed to fly back when the play was written. Without wishing to detract from Capsis in any way, his long-haired Miller seemed out of place in this 1950s world, although not his character’s sentiments, when they are finally expressed in the closing scenes.
The Deep Blue Sea is a haunting piece, not just for the rarity of a complex female lead but for its humanity and its exploration of difference and the human condition – which doesn’t change much over decades, or indeed centuries. Recommended.
Until 7 March. Tickets $50-100
