Warm and cosy, rather like a Miss Marple without the murder, whilst Terrence Rattigan’s Flare Path is a play that doesn’t offer the audience any big surprises (none of his works generally do), it’s probably a more endearing work now than when it was first performed in 1942, thanks to our love of nostalgia and good old war-time spirit. It’s not surprising that it was twice rejected due to it being thought that the British public wouldn’t want to see a play about the war at the time, whereas nowadays our fascination for the era only seems to be increasing.
This production by the Original Theatre Company is currently on a UK tour and I can’t deny that I enjoyed the Forties music that was played between set changes, along with Hayley Grindle’s costume and set design of the Falcon Hotel, in which all the action takes place on a seemingly ordinary day in Lincolnshire during WWII. Written in 1941, Rattigan slowly reveals the lives of the residents whilst delighting us with mentions of rationing, black-outs, sirens and pink gin.
Countess Skriczevinsky (Claire Andreadis) and Patricia Graham (Hedydd Dylan) are both wives of officers stationed at the nearby Air Force base, and who are staying at the Falcon in order to spend the weekend with them. The Countess, otherwise known as Doris, is a former barmaid who has recently had the good fortune to marry a Polish Count whose wife and child were shot prior to him leaving the country; while Patricia is an actress who has been married to Flight Lieutenant Graham ‘Teddy’ (Daniel Fraser) for almost a year, yet hankers after her old flame, film actor, Peter Kyle (Lynden Edwards), who arrives at the hotel early in the first half in order to encourage her to tell her husband about the affair. But it’s clear to see that she’s much better off with the devil she knows. Not getting any younger, and having recently been given the push by his film company, one gets the feeling that Kyle is trying to cling on to his former co-star as he might a dingy in a storm, but will the war make them both want to do the ‘right thing’?
The entire cast remain assured throughout, and although the plot isn’t all that gripping, there are plenty of heart-warming characters such as Teddy and The Countess, who succeed in bringing a tear to the eye in the second half, when the play thankfully becomes less like one long cocktail party and more a serious drama. Other notable performances are Audrey Palmer’s portrayal of matronly hotelier Mrs Oakes, and Graham Seed (who played Nigel Pargetter in The Archers for 27 years) as the all-knowing Squadron Leader Swanson. Polly Hughes meanwhile manages to get plenty of laughs as the nagging wife of Sergeant Miller (Jamie Hogarth).
Any faults are mainly down to Rattigan, although it’s fair to say that Justin Audibert’s direction is a little too meek and mild; for the steamy love triangle isn’t any more exciting than would be the prospect of spending a night of passion on one of the Falcon’s doubtless creaky bedsteads, nor are the siren warnings and air craft bombings of the second half particularly suspenseful, despite some evocative sound design by Dominic Bilkey. Flare Path really is pipe and slippers all the way, with every twist and turn being fully predictable, including the finale which features a brilliant performance by William Reay as Count Skriczevinsky as the returning hero. Somehow this production still manages to hold your attention throughout, and whilst it makes me feel slightly old before my time to admit it, I really enjoyed it.
Flare Path at the Wycombe Swan until as part of an extensive UK tour. For future dates and more information visit the website.
