The opening scene was upbeat and funny and grabbed the audience's attention with a comedic performance from Sandra Duncan as the crass American aristocrat Mrs Van Hopper.
The audience is speedily introduced to the main characters - widower Maxim de Winter, played by Greg Wagland, and Mrs Van Hopper's young unnamed paid companion who just as speedily becomes the second Mrs de Winter.
Mrs Danvers and the second Mrs de Winter
The action takes place so fast here that the new Mrs de Winter doesn't even have time to change her clothes until after she is married and settling into life at Manderley ... or not settling in as the story would go.
The staging, by Martin Johns, is very effective using a main staircase in representation of the Manderley estate. Littered with driftwood and old worn items it is symbolic of the house's location on a Cornish beach and of the past and the haunting atmosphere felt on the estate since the first Mrs de Winter's death.
On arrival the new Mrs de Winter receives hostility from some of the servants at the estate, notably from the sinister character of Mrs Danvers, played by Angela Bain, who still has an unhealthy fondness of the late Mrs de Winter - Rebecca.
Although it was evident that extensive vocal, physical and staging work had been done to build the character of Mrs Danvers, in truth the actor's small stature did not permit the audience to believe she was as menacing as the text would imply.
"this production ... was an enjoyable watch despite the problems encountered and a valiant effort at a hard task.Ìý"
The overall genre of the play was hard to define, classically a romantic thriller, this adaptation attempted to inject some comedy into the story in particular scenes, which although confusing acting styles somewhat, without these scenes the play - due to content rather than performance - would have been fairly heavy-watching and boring.
A major problem for the play was the swift pace which undoubtedly stems from the fact that it is an adaptation of a novel. The speed at which the action took place was too fast for the audience to easily follow and challenging for the actors to allow their characters to grow within, however Lindsay Allen does a commendable job as the new Mrs de Winter.
The second act had more atmosphere than the first and the time-scale was much more plausible. As the mystery of Rebecca's death begins to unfold and the new Mrs de Winter grows from being a shy, submissive character to one with a strong mind and sharp tongue you actually find yourself admiring her and being drawn in whereas in the first act you couldn't really give two hoots.
The final scene
The ending of the play seemed particularly out of place. For a play that seemed to have worked hard to maintain a moderately naturalistic feel, Mrs Danvers’ over-the-top escapade, tearing up a dress, in the final scene was much too melodramatic. However it would understandably have been tricky to stage Manderley on fire as the ending goes in the book version.
To attempt an adaptation from a novel to the stage is ambitious and will always come with it's problems as will producing a five month season of six shows from one company of actors.
Ultimately this production, timed to coincide with Daphne du Maurier's centenary, was an enjoyable watch despite the problems encountered and a valiant effort at a hard task.Ìý
