‘a bold cine-theatre re-imagining of Virginia Woolf’s classic tale’
Storyhouse, Harlow Playhouse, and CutToTheChase Productions co-production under the direction of Jen Heyes, is a bold cine-theatre re-imagining of Virginia Woolf’s classic tale of one day in the life of a fictional upper class English woman whose ordinary, mundane moments contain a deeper connection with other human experiences.
Adapted by Heyes and Kit Green, a single day unfolds in June 1923 in which Clarissa Dalloway travels around London preparing for her party, whilst war veteran Septimus Warren Smith struggles with the horrors of his own experience. As their stories unfold side by side, blurring past and present, memory and identity, a range of supporting characters appear providing a moment of connection between them, with Green performing all the roles including that of Woolf herself.
Presented as a somewhat personal tribute to Woolf, the similarities between life one hundred years ago and now are clearly set out early on to reinforce the continued relevance of the novel and the fact that by not learning the lesson of history, we allow it to orbit and repeat itself.
Simon Kenny’s live set and costume design certainly establishes place and importantly a sense of intimacy which is no mean feat given the size of the venue, with mood and moment augmented throughout by Phil Saunders intricate lighting design.
Monica Koeck’s film and video design provides the necessary backdrop to reinforce the London location through landmark images whilst echoing imagery from the book such as the array of flowers that Clarissa has gone to purchase at the beginning, whilst Stephen Hull’s sound design cleverly echoes the apparent lightness of the day as well as the underlying darkness gnawing away in the background.
The presentation works well in the opening half as Green, resplendent in turquoise dress, leads us on the spiralling journey that combines live action with pre-recording, on-stage recital with voice-over, song with dance, in a strong fusion of technical styles and artistry, with Green the consummate hostess.
In bringing characters such as Lucy, a domestic maid, to life, some allusions to the modern-day are reflected which capture the humdrum and frustration of the character in an insightful way that is easy for an audience to connect with. It did perhaps play out at least once too often however and runs the risk of caricature, Catherine Tate style, which to me somewhat undoes the good work even if it did raise a laugh from the audience. In contrast the presentation of both Septimus and his wife, Rezia, were heartfelt and moving.
The close of Act I was rightfully powerful and impactful but as always presents the challenge of how to re-engage the audience quickly in Act II before moving the plot on. Unfortunately, the production struggled on both points. With frequent breaking of the fourth wall throughout, particularly in the second half, one begins to lose sight of whether this is an adaptation of Mrs Dalloway with analogies to Virgina Woolf’s own life, or in fact a play about Green. Green is undoubtedly a skilled and talented performer and knows how to engage an audience but in the second half, now shimmering in a silver green dress, the descent into audience sing-song and bringing audience members on stage to play a game detracted from the continued importance of this story and its relevance to the modern day so well outlined at the beginning. Sadly, the audience clapped too early at the end which detracted from Green’s sensitive conclusion but probably summed up the confusion.
Ultimately, it felt like the piece had run out of ideas and material, including film and video, by the halfway point which meant we ended up with a lot of filler to justify an Act II. Where I’ve seen these kinds of productions successfully delivered, they invariably run for eighty minutes without an interval which keeps everyone in the zone and the piece more impressionable. Currently coming in at two hours including an interval, with some obvious tightening up, I believe that is achievable with a production solely focused on the novel which, without the breaking of the fourth wall, would maintain the necessary suspense and intrigue, leaving us with plenty of (party) food for thought. There is a separate fascinating tale to be told about Green, which I would happily watch, but that is a story for another day.
Review Date: 2nd June 2026
Star Rating: THREE