31. Flare Path - Theatre Royal Haymarket

I was lucky enough to get an absolute bargain of a ticket for the press night of Flare Path through the Masterclass offer – particularly lucky as the Theatre Royal Haymarket, despite being quite, quite lovely, is also quite, quite outside my price range. And it would have been a real shame to miss Flare Path as it was absolutely wonderful, in a beautifully sad, warm way.  

Partly feel this was down to the production itself there’s something about the war as a backdrop that is melancholy and sorrowful and inspiring and hopeful. It’s not only a time when we, as a country, lost a great deal but it’s a time when we also achieved a great amount – a time which we’re still proud of and I think a little wistfully nostalgic for. We feel a huge warmth for the people we were then and just the sight of the costumes and the blacked out windows and the haircuts and the uniforms and the sound of 40s music that beckoned us into the auditorium, is enough to capture all those feelings, those odd ways we interact with our past. All of which was heightened by some beautifully evocative lighting, plus the sight of the gently rolling hills caught in the sunrise of the background was stunningly beautiful.

The set wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, though as I mentioned it had elements I loved – but the use of projections were to my eyes very inventively and effectively used and well supported by the sound design to allow the audience to experience the planes taking off and the horrible brutality of the crash. Though part of me would also have liked to have experienced that solely through the characters reactions. I must admit, I was also not sure why the lengthy set changes were needed as little seemed to change on the stage, though I liked the projections they used on the safety curtain.

The real star of the show for me though was Sheridan Smith, who seems to get more sublime daily. There’s something very magical about her, an instant warmth, a genuine realness, a joyful comic streak and a transparency of emotion that is really rare. The scene where James Purefoy as Peter read her Johnny’s letter may be one of the most moving I’ve seen this year. I also thought that Clive Woods as Gloria was loveliness personified and it was difficult not to like Mark Dexter as Johnny or Harry Hadden-Paton as Teddy.

For me if there was a weak link in the production it was in the love triangle between Teddy, Peter and Sienna Miller as Patricia – as beyond Teddy, I couldn’t bring myself to care much for them. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that this is an intentional element of the writing rather than a particular problem with the performances. The triangle is written in such a way that the audience is inclined to prefer Teddy, Peter is fairly unlikable from the outset. This made Patricia’s indecision, whilst understandable given the history, mostly irritating to me. On top of which setting it against the war makes me suspect that we’re not necessarily meant to take this love story seriously.

Not being invested in it though made the ending a little odd, I’m not sure how far we’re supposed to believe the final denouement – whether we’re supposed to believe that this will be a happy ending, whether anything will truly change. It left it slightly uneasy, though I did love that the final goodbye took place in public – it was so very bittersweet and understated and British.

I’d really love to see this again, preferably from a slightly better seat, so that I could pick out all the lovely nuanced performances – alas, I think both time and money will prove an obstruction.