“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
The infamous opening lines of Daphne du Maurier’s best known work, delivered in front of a dark and foreboding set, give the impression that this will follow in the same gothic vein as Hitchcock’s 1940-directed classic.
Award-winning Kneehigh Theatre Company, under the direction of Emma Rice, have beautifully reworked this classic into a brilliant piece of theatre, tense and gripping, while at times also providing laugh-out-loud performances.
The Cornish theatre company have plunged the story of Rebecca deep into its West Country coastal roots, with wax-cotton wearing fisherman performing haunting sea shanties, accompanied on stage by musicians, whilst at the same time helping with slight set changes.
The set itself is something to behold: encompassing both the wreckage of the absent title character’s boat and the rather run down interior of the Manderley estate.
Despite these two quite contrasting elements, and through the clever use of props, the audience are transported effortlessly from Manderley’s once opulent stairwells to the spray of the sea on the shingle beach.
Despite the ominous undercurrents of the narrative, there was some genuine comic relief.
From the off the wall and frantic performance of Katy Owen – playing junior boy servant, Robert – to the semi-slapstick dance routines of Bea and Giles Lacy, played by Lizzie Winkler and Andy Williams respectively.
Alongside the comic element were some very strong performances, Imogen Sage made the audience fall in love with, feel sorry for and by the end distrust the new Mrs de Winter, whilst the guilt and pain projected by Maxim de Winter, played by Tristan Sturrock, really portrayed the anguish of the character.
From start to finish this adaptation of a classic was perfectly balanced, when necessary sticking close to the original story’s chilling and dramatic suspense and then moving in it’s own rip-roaring direction, employing humour, song, dance and some extremely well acted pieces to really make this a highly entertaining and absorbing evening.
