Jay Parinis adaptation of Kiplings harrowing First World War story Mary Postgate is stiff but visually stunning.
At 21, Mary Postgate takes a position as governess to 10-year-old Wynn Fowler and companion to his dying aunt, Miss Fowler. By the time Wynn reaches his twenties, the Germans are the clear enemy and he eagerly enlists with the Royal Flying Corps. Throughout, Mary is fiercely patriotic, but after losing her charge in a training accident and witnessing the death of a neighbours little girl at the hands of a German bomber, she seethes with hatred for those bloody savages. In this state, the audience must witness what a lady can be reduced to in times of conflict.
The cosy set and sensitive lighting design are nothing short of beautiful, and space is used extremely well in this production. Madeleine Knight is enchanting and often chilling as the mysterious Mary Postgate, and Oliver Kings cheeky Wynn Fowler is utterly believable. Unfortunately, it is the script that lets this play down, trying too hard for laughs and over-emphasising moments of tension. In the program notes, Parini claims In my own head, the tale begins as a kind of Edwardian Oscar Wilde play; at some point, it morphs into Harold Pinter. Sadly, if this is true, it is Wilde without the wit and Pinter without the poignancy.
