Men of passion

There are similarities and contrasts in the two primary characters. Both shared a love of Aeschylus’ The Agamemnon.

The first by Chekhov concerns an ageing and one-time eminent actor, Svetlovidov, waking up in his dressing room after his final performance and reflecting on his career and what he sees as a wasted talent.

He reprises his most memorable performances for Nikita (James Laurenson), the prompt, the only person left in the building.

Rattigan’s beautifully crafted The Browning Version also concerns a man in the twilight of his career. But stiff-upper-lip public school classics master Andrew Crocker-Harris is quite the opposite of the declamatory, overly theatrical actor.

Of the two he is the more interesting and it was a far more subtle and intricate performance by Bowles.

As the actor he strutted and wailed and the old man’s vibrato in his speech was perhaps a touch overdone. Nevertheless it was thoroughly entertaining.

What both men had was passion – Svetlovidov’s for great drama and Crocker-Harris’ for the Greek classics. But it was expressed very differently. The schoolmaster’s early brilliant promise as an Oxford scholar fizzled out as a schoolmaster. He is brutally honest about his failures in his career and his marriage.

His body language vividly expresses the inner hurt inflicted by his wife and fellow teachers, not least the insensitive headmaster (James Laurenson), while his face and voice remain impassive.

Candida Gubbins gives a crisp performance as Millie, his bitch of a wife. Charles Edwards is engaging as Frank Hunter, a fellow teacher and Millie’s latest lover, whose eyes are opened to her true character when he witnesses a breathtaking act of mental cruelty by her to her husband.

James Musgrave was credible and sympathetic as schoolboy Taplow.

Both plays demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit.

The double bill runs until August 1 in repertory with David Storey's Home, and Bernard Shaw's The Apple Cart.