Waters of the Moon

When this play was originally produced in 1951 it was given poor reviews and yet audiences filled the Haymarket Theatre in London's West End for two years. It was considered too Chekhovian and that was only partly true. While N. C Hunter loved Chekhov, he did not imitate him, but incorporated some of Chekhov's very Russian themes of loneliness, false declarations of love, and an inward despair that Russia would never get out of its near terminal lethargy. A big house in the country, inhabited by people living in genteel poverty, including a refugee from Austria just after WW2 set the scene of ' Waters of the Moon '. I am not sure if Hunter realised this but 'Waters of the Moon' was a call to the well-heeled audiences who mostly saw the play to address the terrible economic and spiritual deprivations that existed in the UK at that time. Hunter admired Chekhov, but he had his own vision and it was bleak. This production of the play from 1983 excellently captures the spirit of the 1950's and you only have to look at Virginia McKenna's amazing performance as a woman who has lost almost everything, and how she hides her despair and loneliness, to see the spirit of those years. Set in an hotel on the edge of Dartmoor an unhappy family take in permanent guests (until the end of their lives ?) and we see in the inward misery of the guests and the owners the country as a whole, on the point of ruin. Into this setting comes a rich Londoner (with husband and child in tow) who likes men too much and can afford heartless flirtations. Stranded by a snowstorm, her indifference towards her fellow guests is gruelling to watch. Penelope Keith plays it very well indeed, and nearly breaks the heart of the Austrian refugee with empty promises of help and love before the thaw of snow turns her own heart to ice. Ronald Pickup plays the Austrian to perfection. The play is set in the few days before New Year's Eve brings in 1951 and there is a party from hell where everyone drinks, and talks too much of hopes that will never come to any of them, including a young man, the son of the family who may or may not have long to live. From her chair Virginia McKenna watches, drinks and observes them all. When she gets up to play the piano after turning off the blasts of bad music on the radio she plays a Viennese Waltz and a drunken dance begins. Sartre could not have conveyed this better with his 'hell is other people' statement from a play, 'In Camera' of his own. It is a great scene and in my opinion one of the greatest in 20th C. Theatre and this filmed version conveys it all and finishes with McKenna giving the most solid words of wisdom in the whole play concerning endurance and acceptance. Finally stagnation returns and the waters of the moon, signifying hope, dry up. This is a play that still resounds today in our current climate of the division of those who despair without money, and those who have money and can despair with indulgences. Find this television version if you can. I even have a suspicion that Penelope Keith, Ronald Pickup and above all Virginia McKenna surpassed the original cast. Sadly that cast left no trace behind except in memorabilia. A definite ten.

This handsome production of the N.C. Hunter play has several excellent performances to recommend it.

Standard drawing-room drama starts out by establishing the dull lives of a group of people in a residence hotel in Devonshire. The four residents form a disparate group. There's the retired colonel (Richard Vernon) who sleeps away his life when he's not shooting birds. There's a displaced Austrian Jew (Ronald Pickup), and two women at opposite ends of the pole: Mrs. Whyte (Virginia McKenna), a brittle upper-class woman who's lost her money, and Mrs, Ashmore (Joan Sims), a cheerful working-class type. The hotel is run by the dour Mrs. Daly (Dilys Laye) and her dreary adult children.

On a snowy night, in blows Helen Lancaster (Penelope Keith) with husband and daughter in tow. Seems their car skidded off the road and they are stranded. She immediately takes over the household, asking for rooms, hot soup, and a place by the fire. Everyone acquiesces, even though it means one resident will have to sleep on the couch.

As the storm rages and the days go by, Helen Lancaster is still there and disrupting the lives of the residents. She's especially enamored of the displaced Austrian and chirps and chats about Old Vienna and music and art. As New Year's Eve approaches, she decides they must have a party.

The party does not go well. Mrs. Whyte becomes more and more resentful of the breezy Helen and her inane and insincere chitchat. Mrs. Daly's daughter (Lesley Dunlop) also grows weary of the obvious wealth Helen displays, and the sickly son (Dean Allen) gets drawn into the talk about continental travel and skiing in Switzerland with Miss Lancaster (Clare Byam-Shaw).

On New Year's Day, the weather changes and a thaw means the Lancasters may soon be leaving. As they pack up to leave it becomes obvious that Helen's casual invitations to visit London are meaningless. The lives she has disrupted are already forgotten as she stresses about meeting city friends for lunch. She also bemoans the dull life that must be spent in the country as her husband (Geoffrey Palmer) finally gets everything packed in the car.

After he departure the residents must pick up the pieces of their dull routines though they may have been changed by the vivacious stranger.

Keith, McKenna, and Pickup are terrific as the main characters, and the supporting cast is admirable. The outside set of terraced garden and house exterior is excellent. Hard to find, but worth the hunt.

The tranquility and calm enjoyed by a group of mature residents at a small hotel is brought to a crashing end when a family of three turns up during a winter blizzard. The Devonshire hotel isn't quite ready for society woman Helen Lancaster.

A dazzling drama; for over ninety minutes, I sat absorbed in the most wonderfully absorbing drama. At times, I felt as though I had a front-row seat at the theatre. It's a glorious story of human nature: a group of people, set in their ways, are forced by nature to co-exist with people from different walks of life.

The different reactions to Helen's forceful and exuberant personality are what make it so watchable. Some are frustrated; some are in awe. Keith looks divine throughout, her costumes are glorious, so sophisticated.

'Dull little people, leading dull little lives in an English backwater.'

One random passing thought, people change so quickly when they're allowed out, given their freedom, it made me think about the behaviour of some at the end of COVID quarantines. That scene where Helen changed the arrangements with Winterhalter was so revealing.

The performances are an utter delight. The standout is the glorious Dame Penelope Keith; her exuberant performance is an utter joy from start to finish. That first moment she appears, looking utterly divine, she takes over. Virginia McKenna and Joan Sims shine brightly.

Huge credit to the production team, they did a fine job with the sets and presumably low budget.

10/10.

A unique and infuriating trip to the masochistic social 'niceties' of the 1950s.

All the players play out their theatrical roles well, but Penelope Keith is extraordinary.

A noisy, over-educated harridan who forces her will to get her way disrupts the lives of residents at a Devonshir guest house. Her impact on the stuffy souls around her are a huge source of insight into the human condition of a post war England.

It was written as a play and has been deliberately filmed as if in a theatrical setting. Still great to watch even after almost four decades.