Following the success of Twopence to Cross the Mersey, Rob Fennah’s new adaptation, By the Waters of Liverpool, takes the next two biographical volumes that chart author Helen Forrester’s life, from her teens to her early 20s and the outbreak of war.
It’s a big, sweeping storyline, and this is reflected in the play’s substantial running time. Although at times the action rattles along in rapid fire scenes, the style of narrative, in which actors describe their actions almost as though reading the stage directions, tends to make the piece feel somewhat sluggish.
A single set depicts a Liverpool cityscape, with the open space of the Empire’s vast stage bounded by shopfronts, and individual scenes are created by the swift movement of furniture.
Maria Lovelady holds the show together courageously as Helen, with the remaining cast paying some 60-70 parts. Notable here are Emma Dears and Mark Moraghan, as her financially reckless mother and father.
Whilst the first act needs to pick up its pace, the action does become more intensely driven after the interval. The story’s swift progress makes it difficult at first to connect with the characters, but by the tragic conclusion there is a sense of emotional investment that brings genuine poignancy.
The method of storytelling becomes frustrating at times, but this is an affecting and affectionate piece of writing, and the adaptation, under Gareth Tudor Price’s direction makes a fine job of capturing both the period and the peculiar class barriers that existed in Forrester’s life.
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| Maria Lovelady as Helen Forrester - Photo (c) Anthony Robling |
Star Rating: Three Stars
This review was originally written for and published by The
Stage, and is posted here retrospectively in its unedited form.
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