Janet Replogle as Her Ladyship/Cordelia, Nicola Willis-Jones as Madge, Robert Leembruggen as Sir/King Lear, Roger Stone as Norman. Photo by Fredde Lieberman.
For many Americans, live performance in the context of World War II invokes images of Rita Hayworth entertaining entire armies at a time with the USO. For regular theater artists around the world though, it meant a constant struggle to do the art they’d always been doing under intolerable conditions. The British Players’ production of Ronald Harwood’s “The Dresser” shows us a thoughtful, funny and, at times, profoundly sad slice of that reality with their depiction of a small English theater during the Blitz as it’s eclectic artists push through air raids, rationing, and a whirlwind of backstage drama centering around their principal player.
…thoughtful, funny and, at times, profoundly sad…excellent.
Referred to only as Sir (Robert Leembruggen), the bulk of the show’s action revolves around his titular dresser of the past 16 years, Norman (Roger B. Stone), scrambling to prepare the actor for his role as King Lear in that night’s performance of the legendary play. From his first moments onstage, it’s clear Sir has begun to suffer from some form of dementia, and Leembruggen perfectly walks the difficult tightrope of portraying that disease. His entrance is a frantic rush, barely acknowledging anyone else and pacing the room in search of anything that makes sense. He frequently breaks into eloquent monologues worthy of a seasoned performer of Shakespeare, but they have so little relation to what’s happening in front of him that they feel more like soliloquies. As the perpetually flustered but ever patient Norman nudges him little by little into finally donning his costume and reviewing his lines, Sir claws back some lucidity and we begin to see glimpses of the brilliant performer who would have been cast as Lear in the first place. Like most victims of cognitive decline, it never lasts, and seeing this ebb and flow play out is as tragic as Leembruggen’s performance is excellent.
Stone brings a believable energy to Norman as Sir’s de facto caretaker, with a mix of protectiveness and casual exasperation that only comes from looking after someone you’ve known for years. Norman’s classic British wit and not-too-acerbic sarcasm also produces much of the show’s humor. It also plays alongside a simmering resentment at giving so much of his life to this one man that only has slight, but powerful, opportunities to bellow up in excellent examples of Stone’s range as an actor. Janet Van Albert Replogle as Sir’s wife and constant acting companion, Her Ladyship also deserves mention for her cool expression of where years at Sir’s side have left her. We never see these characters in anything but the beaten down states they’re in, but the tight interplay between their performances makes it easy to see where Norman and Her Ladyship’s implied history with Sir has taken them.
There is of course another difficulty lurking in the background of the show—a war is on and air raid sirens interrupt the proceedings, eventually even intermingling with the sounds of Lear’s famous storm. Matt Mills’ sound design really shines here. It’s not just during “King Lear.” The sirens regularly sound during transitions but persist at a low but noticeable hum well into the following scenes. They also pair nicely with Eddie Schwartz’s lighting design emphasizing the blood red lights of air raid blackouts. Combined with Jennifer Crier Johnston’s distinctly wartime shabby but charming costumes and the jagged set design of Albert Coia, Robert Lemmbruggen, and Mike Lewis that hints at a bombed out ruin, the reality of the war comes across in some clever and subtle ways.
That war mostly stays in the background, never entirely absent but also not really present beyond those sirens and a few scattered references to rationing and the bombing of other theaters. The bulk of the conflict stays focused on Sir’s slipping competence, Norman’s inadequacy, and everyone but Sir trying to push the crew through the night’s performance of “King Lear.” On a surface level, there’s little preventing this show from being set in any time and place.
This isn’t necessarily a flaw. Keeping the war out of the direct spotlight lets it breathe as more of a thematic element. “There are always dangers when covering the cracks,” says Sir in one of his more lucid moments. His parallel to Lear is almost too obvious to mention, but there’s a third thread connecting to Britain itself during the Blitz. As the Germans dropped daily bombs on their country, British society patched what cracks it could and tried to go on living normally. For its theater artists, this meant doing en masse what Norman and his colleagues try to do with Sir, pushing through their tremendous difficulties and doing their damndest to ensure the show goes on. “The Dresser” is a smart depiction of that increasingly distant time, never shorting the presence of war it’s due, but also taking lengths to show that life and art and the chaos that come with them persisted in spite of it.
Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
“The Dresser” runs through Saturday, March 23 at Kensington Town Hall, 3710 Mitchell Street, Kensington, MD 20895. Fore more information and tickets, go online.
