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PATRICK MARMION reviews The Deep Blue Sea at the Theatre Royal: Tale of romantic regret hidden by veil of primness
Was there ever a play that craved intimacy like Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea?
As ever, Greig is a powerful stage presence, catching Hester's shame and anguish at being abandoned by her pusillanimous playboy squeeze, Freddie (Hadley Fraser), a keen amateur golfer (the writing was on the wall). The second offers a view from backstage, halfway through the tour, as we hear the play continuing while watching the cast's jealousies and inadequacies creating mimed fury, mutual sabotage, violence — and desperation to keep the whisky bottle and the oldest veteran apart. Altogether it is considerable fun, handling all the physical jokes beautifully — George Kemp's tied-shoelace and downstairs tumble positively heroic — and Russell Richardson's drunken old ham Selsden is a joy.
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