A singular spectacle unfolds as Kit Green embodies all characters in a multimedia solo show adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. At Storyhouse, Chester, this imaginative interpretation of the 1925 day-in-the-life novel offers a fresh perspective on the classic story.
A Playful Re-examination
As Clarissa Dalloway moves about the stage, welcoming the audience and initiating party games, the essence of Woolf's meticulous socialite may initially seem absent. However, this stage adaptation, co-written by director Jen Heyes and performer Kit Green, is a playful re-examination of the novel, presented as a multimedia-driven solo show. Heyes has been experimenting with cine-theatre for some time, and this production evokes the work of Australian director Kip Williams, though it is simpler than his West End hits like Sarah Snook's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Cynthia Erivo's Dracula.
Interactive Video Design
In Heyes's production, featuring Monika Koeck's video design, Green's Clarissa interacts with many characters on screen, all portrayed by Green herself. Among them are her husband Richard, her old friend Sally Seton, the maid Lucy, and Septimus, a war veteran suffering from PTSD. Each character study is attentive: Peter Walsh, another old friend, is shown forever fiddling with his pocketknife while agonizing over what could have been. When the narrative reaches Clarissa's party, an entertaining montage sees the guests appear to mingle, while Stephen Hull's sound design supplies the hubbub. Elsewhere, his soundscape of birds, bees, and Big Ben chimes helps conjure a June day in London.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The show is strongest when it follows the book closely. However, when Green pauses the narrative to reflect on her relationship with the text, her fear of Woolf, or to check in on the audience's well-being, it becomes maudlin. Additionally, the audience does not feel privy to anyone's inner thoughts or sense their perspectives shifting as they do in Woolf's novel. Despite these shortcomings, the production is imaginative and often visually powerful. The contrast between Green's tortured Septimus on screen and her breezy Clarissa on stage is heightened by Koeck's sepia coloring for the shell-shocked former soldier and the thick blue sea that appears to engulf him as he struggles to cling to reality.
Performance and Technology
The technology never overpowers Green's onstage performance, which flirts with cabaret as she sings, and also standup comedy as she roasts her audience about their home city. This may not be the Mrs Dalloway you remember, but as a spectacle, it is singular.
The production runs at Storyhouse, Chester, until 6 June. It then travels to Harlow Playhouse, Essex, from 10-11 June; Wilton's Music Hall, London, from 16-20 June; and Home, Manchester, from 24-26 September.
