click to enlarge - Courtesy Of Joey Moro
- Tim Daly and Jayne Atkinson in Still
In Lia Romeo's concise comedy Still, two former lovers who never forgot each other explore a second chance at romance. Dorset Theatre Festival gives the play its world premiere in high style, with stage and television stars Jayne Atkinson and Tim Daly bringing the chemistry and the stage itself supplying some visual drama. Over 75 well-paced minutes, the actors enthrall us as two characters contemplating a big second act in their lives.
When they meet again after 30 years, Mark and Helen at first tread carefully around their college-age love affair. They're in their late sixties now and have built rich lives. Mark has filled a full adult-bingo card with a marriage, two daughters, a long legal career, a recovery from a heart attack and a divorce. Helen has realized the dream she had when she and Mark were young and in love. She's a successful novelist who has lived with the freedom she always sought, never settling into a long relationship.
They meet again in a bar as friends, curious about each other. They always loved talking together and find they still do; soon they give in to wondering about the great what-if in their lives. Can they rekindle that flame? The attraction is still there, and both their lives may have been leading right to this moment.
Mark is self-effacing but quietly confident. Helen is a keen wit and gold-star student of mortality. They've acquired these qualities by aging well, but both understand that what's ahead is unknown. Mark is considering entering politics. He and Helen share a secret that would hurt his chances of election. It may even hurt their chances of starting over.
Romeo's tightly structured script throws some obstacles in their path while letting the pair try out reasons to overcome them. In the hands of lesser actors, we'd be watching two people plod through their past and pluck away the cobwebs of an old love affair. Atkinson and Daly, however, elevate this story to a buoyant, engaging escapade and then let each impediment hit them hard.
Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt has joined strong stagecraft with golden performances. Nearly half the play is staged with the characters seated, almost stationary. It's a bravura bit of realism not unlike a long, static movie shot. Campbell-Holt trusts pace and performance to carry the entire scene, and it works — we can't take our eyes away. When the characters use the full stage in the second half, the director exploits action and space brilliantly to propel or release tension.
Though the characters are sketched fast, these excellent actors don't need much story to convey connection, as well as the fear of where it may lead. Atkinson and Daly have an ease working together and make the secret hesitations of desire legible. Each character balances a sweet conflict between daring and doubt.
Atkinson plays Helen as a woman of intelligence and conviction who rarely lets her guard down. But this meeting with Mark frees her to confess things she normally conceals, and Helen grows steadily stronger as she does so. Atkinson expresses freedom as both a tonic and a little bit of a burden. Helen is open to what can happen but never plaintive or needy, thanks to Atkinson's subtle ability to lead a scene by listening, by leaning back.
Daly has a wonderful way of letting Mark almost get lost as he tries to remember the story he's telling. The script maps some of these stumbles, but it's Daly's ability to let them surprise him that helps Mark win over the audience. Only a relaxed actor can play a nervous character, allowing time for pressure to build and register. Daly subtracts the haze and fuss that some performers use to dress up a scene and simply supplies the emotion.
Scenic designer Alexander Woodward creates impressive spaces with small details and large architectural gestures. To support the text's naturalistic dialogue, the set is rigorously realistic. Woodward's spaces may seem a little antiseptic at first glance, but they become perfect blank canvases for the characters to start something. We won't give away the particulars of the production's big physical transition, but it's a marvel worth seeing.
All the Dorset design elements are ideal. Costume designer Barbara Bell communicates the characters' poise and social position, and gives them an everyday beauty. The sound design by Hidenori Nakajo adds unobtrusive realism. Lighting designer Reza Behjat has some smart, sneaky tricks, such as filling a false ceiling with illumination and conveying the low lighting of an intimate space while letting the actors' expressions reach the viewer.
Romeo's characters are the age of many people in the audience, and they clearly resonated with Friday night's packed house. But this funny show is ready for young people to discover, too.
Mark's political career gives Romeo a chance to show the current potential for ideological polarization to sever relationships. The best romantic comedies let two people help each other overcome their flaws. In Still, the characters test whether abiding attraction is more important than political differences. Alas, the predictable rom-com happy ending can't survive such a culture war, but that doesn't mean Romeo is reaching especially deep. One political flash point is a well-realized fulcrum of the plot, but other conflicts are glib exaggerations. Ultimately, the entertaining characters are bigger than their situation.
The highlight of this production is the acting. For Mark and Helen, the passage of time is growth or decay, or indeed a bit of both. The experience of change is a subtle progression, but in a play it's a turning point. Atkinson and Daly capture both the sharp edges of a decision the characters struggle to make and also the delicate contours of how far they have come to face their future. It's elegant acting, bringing that flicker of what-if to life.