June 25, 2009
This powerful performance tells the life story of Dorothy Whitney Elmhirst, an amazing woman whose life was full of different strands, each of which could be worthy of a full-length play – orphaned at an early age, attachment and subsequent loss of her beloved stepmother, the responsibility of a huge inheritance, marriage to her soulmate followed by heartbreaking bereavement, her struggles with motherhood versus her creative spirit, and arguably her most notable achievement, the creation of Dartington Hall, an education establishment whose first prospectus said it was simply a place for adventure. I did not know of Dorothy before I saw this play, but will certainly be researching her life and achievements, particularly her support of the Women’s movement in America which was not explored in detail here.
The play is set in 1959 in the Bahamas towards the end of her life when Dorothy meets a biographer who is writing her life story – or is he? The writer’s notes explain that the script ‘…playfully explores two possible imaginary realities – is Dorothy imagining the biography and therefore the biographer or is the biographer creating Dorothy?’ Whichever strand we choose to believe (and for me it was interchanging), the result is a passionate portrayal of Dorothy’s life, loves, memories and fears – and whilst celebrating her colourful character, we also see how she chips away at the fortress the biographer has created around himself in the wake of his own tale of tragedy.
The play was flawlessly performed by Kathryn Podgson as Dorothy and Kyle Riley as the biographer – they commanded and enchanted the studio with their powerful performances – Podgson’s portrayal of Dorothy was passionate, lively, creative and enigmatic, and Riley’s biographer played off Podgson’s energy with great rapport – these two performers had a huge amount of fast-paced dialogue and kept the audience enthralled throughout the show – I did feel that the second half dragged a little and wondered if perhaps the play should have been condensed into one longer scene, however the natural break of the first half was perfectly placed and at least the break gave the actors time to draw breath. Altogether a worthy play about an extraordinary lady.
The play is set in 1959 in the Bahamas towards the end of her life when Dorothy meets a biographer who is writing her life story – or is he? The writer’s notes explain that the script ‘…playfully explores two possible imaginary realities – is Dorothy imagining the biography and therefore the biographer or is the biographer creating Dorothy?’ Whichever strand we choose to believe (and for me it was interchanging), the result is a passionate portrayal of Dorothy’s life, loves, memories and fears – and whilst celebrating her colourful character, we also see how she chips away at the fortress the biographer has created around himself in the wake of his own tale of tragedy.
The play was flawlessly performed by Kathryn Podgson as Dorothy and Kyle Riley as the biographer – they commanded and enchanted the studio with their powerful performances – Podgson’s portrayal of Dorothy was passionate, lively, creative and enigmatic, and Riley’s biographer played off Podgson’s energy with great rapport – these two performers had a huge amount of fast-paced dialogue and kept the audience enthralled throughout the show – I did feel that the second half dragged a little and wondered if perhaps the play should have been condensed into one longer scene, however the natural break of the first half was perfectly placed and at least the break gave the actors time to draw breath. Altogether a worthy play about an extraordinary lady.