FATAL ATTRACTION AT THE ARTS THEATRE
Susie Amy and Oliver Farnworth meet in Fatal Attraction
James Dearden’s notorious script leaps from film fame into contemporary life in this stunning production. It is a drama as old as time; Dan (a superbly energetic Oliver Farnworth) is happily married to Beth and living the life of a successful lawyer in New York’s Manhattan. His wife proposes a switch from their city world to a country property she’s spotted near to her mother’s home. Dan, clearly, is not keen and lets her go off for the weekend for a look around the new house alone. That night he meets a friend for a drink . He is larger than life newbie divorcé Jimmy, played with assured presence by John Macaulay. Jimmy seems to be having he time of his life as he lines up a hot date - but leaves suddenly to deal with his errant son’s problems back at the matrimonial home. Alone in the bar, Dan meets a sensationally alluring woman .They fall into a whirlwind of charming conversation and friendly camaraderie – he is beguiled. She proposes dinner and they subsequently spend a torrid night together at her flat – a scene beautifully realized by the two actors in an almost balletic eroticism. The tragedy is in full swing. Alex is indignant when Dan slips off secretly the morning after – and tempts him back for another night with a subtle blend of alarmist self- harm and sadness. What follows is familiar to anyone who saw or heard of the encounter in the film version, thirty- four years ago.
But times change. And attitudes alter. Writer James Dearden is thrilled to have his original script on the stage (with the fudged film ending restored ) and frankly it hasn’t aged a jot. Susie Amy in the role of the seductress brings such a brilliant, believable humanity to the role, so as to change the moral emphasis entirely. Alex is a difficult woman, and a determined one. But are her passionate protests when she feels abandoned by Dan as he scuttles back to his wife, manically manipulative or desperately disappointed? Dan appears concerned about her - then blocks her calls,As James Dearden, the author, observes “ Is Alex the aggressor and Dan the victim or is it really the other way round?
The set. by the way, is wonderful. How do these designers conjure the whole of Manhattan’s skyline - with visuals to match.
Friends Oliver Farnsworth and Joh nMacaulay
A fabulous night at the theatre, where yet again the full intensity of the emotional clashes emerge with the energy of a Greek drama, or indeed a Shakespearean tragedy. Like Macbeth or Anthony, Dan makes a fatal error – and then drives himself to destruction. Dan’s degeneration from an assured lawyer with balanced values, into a murderous self pitying resentful wimp is worthy of a fall from grace in any century. This play deserves a wider airing as a morality play for our time.
A wonderful overview in last night’s play was the heart rending story of Madame Butterfly. The music haunts the action. Dan refuses a ticket to see the opera with Alex – does he then turn his back on empathy with his troubled lover? Is he the Pinkerton of another era? Her last appearance echoes the fate of the wronged and abandoned Cho San. Another dimension to this thoughtful and worthwhile play?
