Rain (1973)
by John Colton & Clemence Randolph from the short story by W. Somerset Maugham
Produced & Designed by Jill Clarke
Performances: May 1973, Bell Theatre
Contents
Introduction
Text about the play
Cast
- Mrs Davidson - Pam Lyne
- Mrs MacPhail - Jean Warboyes
- Dr MacPhail - Tom Swann
- Joe Horn, Trader of Pago Pago - Arthur Skinner
- Sergeant O'Oara - Bernard Bullbrook
- Corporal Griggs - Richard Ebbs
- Sadie Thompson - Midge Adams
- Quartermaster Bates of the 'Orduna' - Edwin Stone
- Reverend Davidson - Colm O'Neil
- Islanders - Wendy Issatt & Robin Saxon
Crew
- Stage Manager - Leslie Morris
- Assistant Stage Managers - Jackie Smith, Dianne Hawksworth & Howard James
- Production Assistant - Deirdre Shaw
- Lighting - Colin Stokes
- Assisted by Tony Rapson
- Sound - Adrian Towler
- Set Builder - Ray Seaton
- Assisted by Bernard Bullbrook & Eddie Clark
- F.O.H/Box Office - Frank Howcutt
Reviews
"Performing in the Rain"
Maugham's Miss Sadie Thompson has become a byword for acting of the grand Hollywood school. The sluttish carouser who, marooned on a South Sea island in the rainy season, falls foul of a fanatical missionary, proved a natural for successive stars of the silver screen.
The adaptation for the stage, by John Cotton and Clemence Randolph, is aptly entitled "Rain", and in spite of its old-fashioned methods it packs some effective theatrical punches. Rain is indeed the metaphor for the claustrophobic entombment of the characters: drenching, torrential rain that seeps into the soul and stupefies the senses.
The play is about what Dr MacPhail calls "the moment of ultimate pressure". It is the moment which finally cracks the rigid facade of the Rev Davidson, who wrestles for Sadie's soul, and commits suicide after succumbing to the desires of the flesh.
Jill Clark's production for the SLTC uses a grandly seedy set, and is soaked in splendid sound effects. Moreover, it includes one of the most bravura performances seen at the centre.
I refer to Amaryllis Adams' interpretation of Sadie, a piece of audacious theatricality that transcends the tawdry plot, passing from brazen tart to vulnerable and frightened girl to the zombie stare of the converted, with a swift reversion to type for the final curtain.
Gallery
- Photos by Bim Harding
Bernie Bullbrook 2nd from left next to Amaryllys Adams
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
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See Also
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Or add anything that is related within this site. The author's page for instance or other plays with a similar theme.
