The two scenes of director Susanna Quirke’s new production, which I was lucky enough to witness, can be described as nothing less than utterly intriguing. The Winterling by Jez Butterworth is a modern day drama set in a derelict Dartmoor country house and follows strongly in the footsteps of previous works (Mojo, Jerusalem) as a play presenting a study of power relations between a collection of mysterious and unbalanced individuals. Mr West, the Lord of this crumbling manor, has called old crime partner Wally; and his partial stepson Patsy, from London for…well it’s not quite clear what for, but once you’ve started watching your curiosity will creep over you and you’ll sure as hell want to find out.
Quirke’s decision to perform in the round at the Keble O’Reilly, thereby decreasing capacity, is hoped to draw the audience straight into the heart of this oppressive production and feel encircled by the menacing tension, which these actors are certainly capable of creating. Minimal prop use and scenery made up mostly of grass carpet and a crumbling fireplace; leave the audience’s attention to be captured by the drama.
The charismatic trio of male leads; David Shields as West, Arty Froushan as Wally and Leo Suter as Patsy, in these particular scenes, provide interesting relationships quickly without the need for much dialogue, while Suter’s moments of comic relief are perfectly timed and fairly rewarding.
Confusion is increased further still by new entrant, Lue, a young traveller with dreams of a sunny holiday abroad – or simply escape. Played by graduate Carla Kingham with a voice full of knowing and disappointment, Lue provides another layer of mystery as well as a thoughtful female character in this otherwise male-dominated performance.
While I only caught a short glimpse of this tale of misplaced London thugs with mysterious motives and a dark past, I would definitely return for more. With profanity, intimidation and the threat of violence abounding, this play might easily be labelled as ‘masculine’ and discarded by many, but don’t dismiss it too quickly. As Quirke revealed passionately – ‘I did this for the script’ and as a portrayal of power, there’s much here to captivate and teach many of us this 4th week at the Keble O’Reilly.
