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A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewThe Rose Tattoo
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How high, how high is this High School?
---- Serafina |
Zoë Wanamaker as Serafina della Rose
(Photo: Clare Park) |
I did have my doubts as to whether a largely English cast could pull off the passionate nature of all these Sicilians, their fiery temperaments, their flashing eyes, their sheer emotional intensity. Zoë Wanamaker does very well, especially in the scenes which require a lightly comic touch as she struggles, for instance, to wriggle into a long unused corset. We have all been there! Darryl D’Silva, who I think might be originally American, but who has acted in the UK for as long as I can remember, adds authenticity with his Latin looks, although I couldn’t see protruding ears or a face like a clown. Maybe Serafina was prone to exaggeration? She mends his jacket and he mends her heart.
Pimlott’s production is full of atmosphere, rampaging children leading a long haired goat around, nosy, gossiping and interfering women and an indiscreet parish priest. The set helps too, revolving to show the details of Serafina’s single storey wood panelled house. The front porch on one side with the road, the interior showing a reception room and a workroom for sewing and to the rear a sky which looks as if it has come out of a cheap painting, all apricot and turquoises. Serafina wears a rose in her hair and pours her figure into a tight fitting chintz frock, brightly coloured with blooming flowers. The lights from the trucks shine through the wooden fence, all contributing to the feel of the small immigrant town.
The parent-child conflict is real enough with a fine performance from Susannah Fielding as Serafina’s daughter, Rosa, locked up naked, so she doesn’t escape to meet the boyfriend. I very much liked the characterisation of the minor roles, the serious school teacher Miss Yorke (Sheila Ballantine) who visits to ask for her star pupil to attend her graduation and Serafina asking, "How high, how high is this High School?". The two WASPish sewing clients, Flora (Buffy Davis) and Bessie (Sarah Annis) who threaten Serafina with a spurious prosecution for not having a licence when their sewing is disrupted by the graduation dress orders. They are vulgar and noisy and disrespectful and make the Sicilians seem full of honour and decency by contrast. Another example of this community being intimidated by older established Americans is Alvaro’s encounter with the odious salesman (Mac McDonald) after the road rage incident.
Zoë Wanamaker, for most of the play in a dishevelled petticoat, does well although her accent wavers a little and I have some reservations about whether she is volatile enough. When she calls the woman who has made the allegations about Rosario a liar, in a deep register she growls, " Liar! Liar!" like a wounded animal. There are moments too of great dignity where she comes close to her sweet daughter. We laughed when she made Jack swear to respect her daughter’s purity. Darrell D’Silva is wonderful, honest, without the guile to disguise the fact that he bought the heart shaped box of chocolates for his bolting fiancée. His scenes with Serafina are the finest, and the funniest of the play.
I did feel that on occasions, sentiment overtakes the theme of how dreadful it must be to discover an infidelity posthumously after believing in a romantic marriage, but then Tennessee Williams was writing a comedy.
For more about Tennessee Williams and links to other Williams productions, check out CurtainUp'sTennessee Williams Backgrounder.
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THE ROSE TATTOO
Written by Tennessee Williams Directed by Steven Pimlott and Nicholas Hytner Starring: Zoë Wanamaker, Darrell D’Silva With: Katerina Jugati, Stephanie Jacob, Jules Melvin, Marilyn Cutts, Sadie Shimmin, Susannah Fielding, Maggie McCarthy, Sharon Bower, Rosalind Knight, Nicolas Chagrin, Gerard Monaco, Sheila Ballantine, Buffy Davis, Sarah Annis, Andrew Langtree, Rendah Heywood, Jonathan Bryan, Mac McDonald, Marianne Morley, Max Baldry, Bradley Ingram, David Perkins, Sebastian Applewhite, Sam Lanchin, Marcus Lezard, Lana Pitcher, Larissa Tasker, Janine Vieira Design: Mark Thompson Lighting: Peter Mumford Movement: Kate Flatt Music: Jason Carr Sound: Paul Groothuis Music Director: Michael Haslam Running time: Two hours 45 minutes with one interval A part of the Travelex season with some seats at £10 Box Office: 020 7452 3000 Booking to 23rd June 2007 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 29th March 2007 performance at the Olivier, Royal National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 (Rail/Tube: Waterloo) |
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