Olivier award-winning actor Julian Glover delivers a poignant performance in this new tragicomedy by Nichola McAuliffe. The play revolves around 89-year-old retired jeweller Maurice (played by Glover) who has recently been diagnosed with severe brain cancer. His wife Helena (played by Sheila Reid) refuses to accept the terminal nature of his condition, despite the fact that he has had to enlist the help of a personal carer (Nichola McAuliffe).
When he is told that he only has a few weeks to live at most, Maurice is determined to last out until his 90th birthday, as he is expecting the Queen to come for tea before the Diamond Jubilee. It transpires that 60 years earlier, on the eve of her majesty’s coronation, Maurice was charged with the responsibility of looking after the crown jewels. A brief encounter with the queen led to a lifelong obsession with an existence he could never have. Though their time together was short lived, an instant attraction formed between the two; an offhand promise made by the queen to come for tea on his 90th birthday gave him the enduring motivation to live until that day.
An inherently sad tale, it is alleviated by moments of light relief found predominantly in the comments made between Maurice and his carer. Acted with great conviction and remarkable attention to detail, it comes across both as captivating and moving. The jealous rift between Helena and Maurice - caused by Helena’s realisation that she is second to the Queen and Maurice’s inability to comprehend her problem - is well realised, and the sensitive subject matter is dealt with in just the right manner.
However, it is let down by its struggle to hold the audience’s attention in the digressions that involve Maurice’s back story. Whilst these are imperative to the plot, their long, drawn out nature makes them difficult to remain engaging. This, combined with the odd stumbled line, detracts from the otherwise stellar overall performance.
A heavy piece of theatre, Nichola McAuliffe’s new play is stark and depressing, yet lifted by well-placed moments of light comedy.
