Archives - November 2008

 

 

CURTAINS
 by Stephen Bill

 

Produced by Clare Buckland

 

THE PLAY

 

Ida is 86, arthritic, confused and slowly dying at home, cared for as best they can by her grandson Michael and neighbour Mrs Jackson. On her birthday, though, her two daughters Katherine and Margaret visit as usual, bringing their husbands Geoffrey and Douglas with them. As the normal, rather laboured, party celebrations go on, the third daughter, Susan - thrown out of the house 25 years ago for an unmarried pregnancy and not seen since - returns unexpectedly.

Tensions flare between Margaret and Susan immediately, over their history with Douglas. Meanwhile Ida struggles to recall who Susan is and Katherine finally realises how dreadfully anguished her mother is over the gradual failure of her faculties. Later that evening, when everyone else is out, Ida reminds Katherine of a promise that she made not to let her suffer. Distraught, Katherine tries to let Ida take an overdose of pills - but when even that is beyond the old lady's ability, Katherine has to smother her to end it all.

Geoffrey returns immediately afterwards and does his best to take charge, trying to convince himself and others that it was a natural end, although he suspects that Ida committed suicide with the pills. Then Katherine, overwhelmed with grief and guilt, confesses the whole truth to the shocked and disbelieving family. They each deal with that knowledge in their own ways, from Douglas' whole-hearted support to Michael's furious incomprehension, although dealing with it introduces possibly irreversible damage into all of the family's relationships.

The doctor, however, simply signs a death certificate, unknowing or uncaring of the events that have taken place, leaving the family to try and rebuild their lives around the uncomfortable truth they now share.

 

From the Author's Afterword

 

This should not be regarded as an "issue" play about euthanasia. All I've attempted to do is bring a group of people together who find themselves increasingly out of their depth. The play is a look at the quality of their lives, my contention being that "being alive" - "life" - is very much a relative experience. If we don't face up to its end, if we insulate ourselves from death, we diminish our own existence. In this way the characters in the play are stunted by their attitudes. Their inability to confront the issue is a handicap as disabling as the blindness or deafness that they from time to time affect.

The play is deliberately not about professionals. That is why no-one on stage has any real medical or legal knowledge, and this leads to the most important point. At no time after the death do the characters intentionally argue or debate the issues involved. Such discussion as does arise only happens when characters find themselves pushed to the point where they can no longer keep silent... It is only in this context and in the knowledge that they may at any moment be called upon to answer for what has occurred, that they find themselves arguing.

 

 

FROM THE GROUP

 

Unfortunately, this production did not go as well as I would have hoped for a number of reasons.
There was a difficulty in blocking the play to start with as the script had no set design included and minimal stage directions which made things quite difficult from the outset. In addition, the dialogue was complicated due to its lack of cohesion and the innumerable tiny interjections into on-going conversations so it was very rare that any single cast member was able to 'build up a head of steam'. Added to this was the burden of a cast member being absent from a large number of rehearsals due to work commitments AND the fact that until Dress Rehearsal, NOT A SINGLE REHEARSAL started on time.
So all in all, a good play, not done particularly well. 
With respect to the subject matter though, I stand completely behind my decision to tackle this play and will defend it to the hilt. I hope that people went away and thought about the play instead of reacting with horror at the first sign of controversy, but we will see.

Clare - Producer

 

The Production Diary

 

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PREVIEWS & REVIEWS

Preview from the Worthing Herald, 6th November 2008

Preview from the Worthing Herald, 13th November 2008

Unpublished review sent to Worthing Herald by their freelance critic

CURTAINS

For their November offering the Cissbury Players chose to produce a play called Curtains, directed by Clare Buckland, in an attempt to get away from the run of the mill fare. They certainly hit on something new - a play that did not entertain, but a serious and unwelcome thought provoking piece about the problems of growing old.
Racked by physical and mental pain, Ida, who lives in a seedy house, has her family around for her 86th birthday, fending off their attempts to amuse, placate and force feed her birthday cake, with the threat of trifle with dream topping, until a daughter arrives who has not popped in to see her mum for twenty five years.
Another daughter solves Ida's problems by stifling her with a large pillow so that by the end of act one there is promise of an intriguing act two.
Regrettably act two descended into an emotional debate on how to deal with the elderly now that mum had been disposed of, which despite a few amusing lines became a tedious recitation notably thrust on actor Mike Liassides who wittered on for hours ad nauseam about what to do. The answer could have been to close the curtains half an hour earlier and get an early night. Instead he opts to nip home to take the dog for a walk, something I wished I could do, despite not having a dog.
The subject is of course a serious problem. It kept me awake overnight worrying about my future and how to let the Cissbury Players down lightly over a play packed with incomplete phrases, pauses, staccato dialogue and a propensity to forget lines.
Maybe the answer is to issue us all with large pillows that may help the Queen save a fortune on sending centenary birthday cards.
The cast were: Ann Burfoot, Samantha Merrick, Mike Liassides, Martin Ellison, Linda Cooper, Dave Holden, Carol O'Connor and Mary Frost, with Clare Mitchell doing sterling work in the prompt corner, for which she deserved a share in the polite applause, or she could in the interval have read out a synopsis of the remaining plot.
Sorry, Cissbury Players, admittedly this was a brave attempt at something different, but you would be advised to return to your usual entertaining plays. Let's draw a curtain over this one.

Eric Fowler

 

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