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As the reader has surely guessed by now, the Fringe offers equally gems and rubbish acts; so it is better to concentrate on the former, leaving the rest behind, to slip away from the memory.
In fact memory is one of the themes touched by delicate, moving play Whatever Happened To Lyn Roe?, loosely based on the life and death of Marilyn Monroe with a hint to a controversy recently stirred up by a play by Alan Ayckbourn: what if she weren’t dead at all and the body found that morning of August 1962 was that of another woman? But let’s not rush it, because Duncan Hopper’s play has many assets that need to be analysed.
The play does not follow a straight story line but is divided into a number of quick flashes, each one a glimpse into Lyn’s world of dreams and disillusion; the resulting narration is economical and stripped down, therefore powerful, and the atmosphere of the ‘50s and ‘60s is recalled by the period music playing between the flashes.
Of course a great deal in a character piece like this is made by the acting, and Lyn Roe is especially strong on it: protagonist Rebecca Ridgeway keeps the same coherent tension throughout the play as her character smoothly slides from naivete to distress to despair; the actress has studied Marilyn Monroe’s film and photographs in order to imitate her same gestures and attitude, which is evident mostly in the “Happy Birthday Mr. President” scene and in a few revealing moments of intimacy with her acting coach Carrie. “Lyn Roe is a character that sticks on to you”, says Ridgeway, “sometimes now I pick up my drink with a dramatic gesture and think: oh no, this is not me, this is Lyn!”.
The other two actors, Karl Williams and Elena Markham, have to work in the opposite way: they are both playing many different characters, which means that they have to switch quickly from one to another, changing accent and motion.
Williams’ highlight is surely stooped, grumpy producer Mr. Cohen, but his favourite scene is admittedly “The final argument between Lyn and her former husband Peter”.
Whereas Markham shines as Carrie: “She is partially inspired by Paula Strasberg, Monroe’s acting coach; although there is no proof that the two had a relationship, Monroe’s dependency on her is well known”. The confrontational sparring between the two women at the end of the play is cutting and sorrowful at the same time, which is all the more astounding when we know that Markham was only cast (after the already cast actress suddenly dropped out) three weeks before the play was staged!
Luckily Ridgeway had more time to study the script: “As soon as I knew that playwright Duncan Hopper was casting, I sent my CV. I was very nervous at the audition in the West End, I’d be embarrassed if he didn’t choose me”.
Hopper is a newcomer to the theatre, but has a long experience in film: he was CEO of Magic Hour Media, an independent film financing company based in Brighton, and says “In fact, this play is part of a bigger project: I’m looking forward to go on tour in Edinburgh (at the local Fringe) and I’m planning dates in LA, NY and Sydney.
After that, Lyn Roe will be translated for the big screen and I can put my expertise to good use.” Good luck to Lyn Roe and good luck to Duncan Hopper, whose first effort in playwriting proved classy, riveting and smart.
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Whatever Happened To Lyn Roe? |
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