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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewThe Children's Hour
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There's something wrong with Karen. Something horrible. &mdash Amelia
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Elisabeth Moss as Martha Dobbs and Keira Knightley as Karen Wright (Photo: Johan Persson) |
Lillian Hellman insisted that her first play was not about Lesbianism but about lies. It began when she was just 28 and with some experience in writing Hollywood script summaries, she was mentored by the crime and mystery writer Dashiell Hammett. Hellman's own childhood meant that she was often being moved between schools in New Orleans where she was born and New York where her father had to go on business and she was in trouble for truanting and, as Stuart Leeks tells us in his article in the theatre programme, she was "regarded by some as a bad influence on other girls."
The interest for many of the audience is in three actors well known from film and television being seen live onstage, Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy in the advertising series Mad Men and Ellen Burstyn. The play itself is not perfect in so far as it is something of a melodrama but the female parts leave scope for interesting performances. These three experienced actors are joined by RADA graduate Bryony Hannah as Mary Tilford, the problem schoolchild and Tobias Menzies in the only major male part.
The Children's Hour is based on a real life incident in a Scottish school in Edinburgh in 1810 where a girl accused two of her teachers of having an affair in the presence of the pupils. Dame Cumming Gordon, the grandmother of the girl who accused the teachers persuaded other parents to remove their girls from the school. Miss Pirie and Miss Woods saw their school deserted and lost their living. Although they were vindicated by a later court case, the damage to their reputation was irretrievable.
There has been so much publicity for the play along the lines of the two young women playing teachers falsely accused of being Lesbians that this synopsis really doesn't really give anything away. The play is set in a boarding school for girls and the first scenes are with a rather silly teacher stand in, Mrs Lily Mortar (Carol Kane) an out of work actress who is supervising the gymslipped girls some of whom are rehearsing a play. Mary Tilford is gauche and awkward, plain and often an irritant in her interaction with the other girls. Mrs Mortar is the aunt of the school's owner Martha Dobie (Elisabeth Moss) who runs it with fellow teacher Karen Wright (Keira Knightley) who is engaged to be married to a doctor Joseph Cardin (Tobias Menzies). Two eavesdropping girls hear an argument between Karen and Martha about Karen's lack of interest in Martha when her fiancé calls. Mary finds out what is said and when she goes to visit her over protective grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) she doesn't want to return to the school and tells her grandmother that the teachers are lovers. The grandmother tells the parents of the other girls and all are removed except for Rosalie (Amy Dawson) whose parents are abroad. Rosalie has to stay with the Tilfords. Rosalie is blackmailed into supporting Mary's lie and the teachers lose a court case they have brought for slander.
Keira Knightley looks perfectly in period in this 1930s set play. Her character is quieter and less expressive than Elisabeth Moss's Martha and both women are convincing. Ellen Burstyn too is unthinkingly arrogant as only the very rich can be as the child's grandmother. The flaw in this play is not the direction or the performances but in the believability of Mary, the pernicious child whom I would not have believed for one moment. Bryony Hannah, who played a little boy in Earthquakes in London makes much of the part but she is always sinister. I very much liked Tobias Menzies' supportive fiancé.
Mark Thompson's weather boarded, grey painted set is very tall yet oppressive and of course with the furniture removed and deserted demonstrates the loss for the teachers. The Tilford home is well appointed .
The first act is rather disappointing with a crowd scene melee of schoolgirls and lots of time given to the least interesting of Hellman's characters Mrs Mortar but the second and third acts are considerably more satisfying so do not leave at the interval! The anger of the two teachers focussed against the grandmother involves us and we are horrified by Mrs Amelia Tilford's behaviour. Elisabeth Moss' character is especially impressive for an actor with little prior stage experience. Maybe she will play Chekhov next?
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| The Children's Hour
Written by Lillian Hellman Directed by Ian Rickson Starring: Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss, Ellen Burstyn, Tobias Menzies, Bryony Hannah With: Eve Ponsonby, Isabel Ellison, Marama Corlett, Carol Kane, Lisa Backwell, Isabella Brazier-Jones, Amy Dawson, Poppy Carter, Nancy Crane, Nathan Nolan Designed by Mark Thompson Lighting: Neil Austin Music: Stephen Warbeck Sound: Paul Groothuis Running time: Two hours 30 minutes with one interval Box Office: 0844 871 7622 Booking to 7th May 2011 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 17th February 2011 performance at The Comedy Theatre, Panton Street, London, SW1 4DN (Tube: Piccadilly Circus) |
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