‘Jules & Jim’ and ‘The Retreat’ – a couple of threesomes.
Two threesomes in one week. I guess I’ve still got it.
I’m talking about Jules & Jim at The Jermyn Street Theatre and The Retreat at The Finborough. Jules & Jim is based on Henri-Pierre Roché’s eponymous book behind the Truffaut film of the same name. This take is written by the UK’s very own Timberlake (Our Country’s Good) Wertenbaker and is performed by Patricia Allison as Kath, Alex Mugnaioni and Samuel Collings as Jim and Jules, a nice old bed swapping threesome. Patricia Allison has that rare and extraordinary quality that keeps you fixed on her whenever she’s on stage. It’s a magical thing and a wonderful coup for Stella Powell-Jones as an early foray into her role as Jermyn Street’s new artistic director. The future looks bright.
Over at The Finborough they’ve got The Retreat by Canadian Jason Sherman. Here we have Rachel, played by Jill Winternitz as a wanna-be script writer on a writers retreat, honing her piece on Israel, zionism and all that well drummed stuff while boning David, seemingly a film maker and one of the lecturers. Or something. Anyway. She decides he’s not a good thing after all and goes back to Dad (Jonathan Tafler – who needs much more stage time in something please), ailing, dying and finally interfering in that Jewish mother sort of a way.
Whatever.
Thank goodness there was a strong lead character in Winternitz. She, along with Michael Feldsher and Max Rinehart did excellent work, rising above the material and hinting at far greater skill. Watching Winternitz in this show is a bit like eating Quality Street at my aunt’s. You know there should be different flavours in the tub, but she only offers the orange creams and the toffees. So you make do. Well, Sherman only offered Winternitz the orange creams. But, for us, she made a wonderful confection from them. There was also a nice old bed swapping threesome in the backstory – and a hell of a lot of furniture swapping on the stage.
Jill wInternitz in The Retreat – photo Ali Wright
Both shows are fine examples of directors pulling magic from a cast that wasn’t offered a full box of sweets – which is, I guess, the blessing of working with good players in the first place.
by Chris Parkinson
(Yeah – I know, this should’ve been posted ages ago. But hey! Sometimes, life just gets in the way)