Three Tall Women
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Laughter and tears Author Edward Albee considers the process of decay of the human mind and body in a play that meets its subject head-on but still prises a surprising number of chuckles from what it finds. The interval divides Hugh Meredith's studio production into distinct halves. In the first, we have a nonagenarian whose mind and bladder both lack retention, plus a kindly but sardonic middle aged woman and a 26-year-old sorting out sundry legal necessities. Afterwards the three women - Jill Bennett, Shirley Gaston and Lucy Heath - become the old one at different stages of her life. Fears and philosophies come tumbling out, along with a not very pleasant description of cancer. Three excellent performances produce an engrossing evening. John Slim |
| THIS thought-provoking and perceptive play captures the problems of growing
old and the thoughtlessness of youth. In the first half we see the 90-something
lady whose forgetfulness worries her, her carer who copes with the problems
of incontinence with a smile and the young woman who is impatient and sometimes
verbally cruel.
The second half features the three stages of the then-dying lady - the young woman who can never envisage being middle-aged, let alone old, the middle-aged woman who has a philosophical attitude to life and the old lady who has enjoyed her life but sees her passing as the ultimate happiness. As the older lady, Jill Bennett was tremendous, especially in the first half when she had the lion's share of the dialogue and never faltered. The ever-reliable Shirley Gaston did not disappoint as the middle-aged woman, her facial expressions often saying it all and Lucy Heath, gave a convincing performance as the younger woman. There are some amusing moments, but mostly this is a rather cheerless play - possibly because we can all recognise ourselves at some stage in our lives, and perhaps our mum's. VJS |