Review: You wait ages for a great role for a woman.. in Backstroke, two come at once
The play is essentially a two-hander between Celia Imrie and Tamsin Greig as a mother and daughter trying to navigate a way through dementia and advanced old age. Mackmin also directs a piece that is a well-constructed, very human, and, at once, funny and tragic account of two women who take turns at being the other's carer.
It is the job of theatre to just occasionally put up a mirror to real life and that Anna Mackmin achieves rather wonderfully in Backstroke.
Imrie in a role that could hardly be any less glamorous – she is hooked up to a drip in a hospital bed for much of the play – is on staggeringly good form, at once pathetic and terrifying in her last moments.
Greig delivers a more nuanced performance – cold and heartless at the start but more understandable towards the end – and the chemistry between the two is a joy to behold. There are precious few great roles available for women on the stage, but these two fine actresses, clearly valuing what they have, make the most of them and they make this an unforgettable night at the theatre.
Backstroke plays at the Donmar Theatre in London until April 12.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Out
19-05-2025
- Time Out
The Deep Blue Sea
The tried and sometimes true conveyor belt between Bath Theatre Royal to Theatre Royal Haymarket continues rumble on, bringing big old fashioned productions of big old fashioned plays with big name actors. Terence Rattigan's maudlin masterpiece The Deep Blue Sea with Tamsin Greig as tragic heroine Hester Collyer follows in the wake of A View From the Bridge (Dominic West) and The Score (Brian Cox) and lands somewhere between the two. It's never much of a chore to see this play, one of the most well made of the well made plays, with its perfect substructure of unspoken feeling and roiling passion. But it's also a play that summons a long history of brilliant performances. The most recent big one, the National Theatre production in 2016 with Helen McCrory, was pretty great. As for this, it isn't bad at all. Even though there's nothing wrong with the direction by Lindsay Posner (who also did A View From the Bridge in a similarly perfectly good way) or the rundown set by Peter McKintosh, or the day-to-night lighting by Paul Pyant, not much particularly stands out either. It all does the job – all gets out of the way of the play, and maybe that's the best thing. Let the play speak for itself. Tamsin Greig takes on the role of Hester, former wife of a judge. She's now shacked up with a young and sexy test pilot and has tried to kill herself when he forgets her birthday. Across the course of a long career in lighter and comic roles, Grieg has often brought unexpected depth and warmth. Here it's the other way around: it needs depth first and comedy second, and while Greig finds a few shattering moments – and it's great to see her go to some extreme places in her sadness and her ferocity – her Hester lacks unity. She plays every interaction on its own terms: now comic, now tragic, now sharp or desperate. The result is a hundred Hesters rather than one. There isn't a note wrong from Hadley Fraser as roguish Freddy, seducer of Hester, who loves her but makes her miserable and drinks too much. Fraser's got such incredible presence. He drapes himself over the set like he's lived there forever. He's matched by a brilliantly upstanding Nicholas Farrell, Hester's high court judge husband, who offers her a sensible, reasonable and stifling life in high society. And it's a weirdly funny production of a usually sullen play. Selina Cadell finds a laugh in most of her lines as nosy housekeeper Mrs Elton. Posner often comes close to the solidity and quiet excellence of his View From the Bridge of last year, but it's not always sustained. The result is a perfectly decent production of a pretty much perfect play.
Time Out
19-05-2025
- Time Out
About The Deep Blue Sea
TAMSIN GREIG stars in Terence Rattigan's 1950's study of obsession and the destructive power of love in a new production originally presented at the Theatre Royal Bath. When you're stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea can sometimes look very inviting. In this powerful drama of passion versus loyalty, Hester Collyer, the daughter of a clergyman and wife of a judge is floundering in the closing stages of a hopeless affair. Freddie Page, her lover, a handsome but shallow ex-Battle of Britain pilot, is out of his depth in their relationship, overwhelmed by the strength of an emotion he is incapable of reciprocating… Olivier Award winner Tamsin Greig has been one of the country's best-loved stage and screen actresses in a career spanning four decades. She won the Olivier for Best Actress in 2007 for Much Ado About Nothing and has been nominated for The Little Dog Laughed and Women on the Verge of a Breakdown. The cast includes Tony Award nominee Finbar Lynch (Not About Nightingales, National Theatre, Girl From The North Country, Noel Coward Theatre). Director Lindsay Posner's recent highly acclaimed productions include the West End transfer of Noises Off and A View From The Bridge starring Dominic West. Hide
The Guardian
17-05-2025
- The Guardian
Tamsin Greig: ‘What is the worst thing anyone's said to me? 'And for you, sir?' It happens a lot'
Born in Kent, Tamsin Greig, 58, studied drama at the University of Birmingham. Her television work includes Black Books, Green Wing, Episodes and Friday Night Dinner, and she won the 2007 Best Actress Olivier award for her role in Much Ado About Nothing. Until 21 June, she stars in The Deep Blue Sea at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. She is married to actor Richard Leaf, has three children and lives in London. Which living person do you most admire, and why? Nick Cave for his determination to hold a space for public discourse on the deep and difficult and mysterious elements of life. What was your most embarrassing moment? Throwing up all over the red velvet seats in the House of Lords on a school trip, aged nine. Aside from a property, what's the most expensive thing you've ever bought? Therapy. What is your most treasured possession? The ring with three faded amethysts that my husband bought me after the birth of our first child. Describe yourself in three words High-functioning introvert. What would your superpower be? Not seeing the mess. What makes you unhappy? The mess. What do you most dislike about your appearance? To quote a Mavis Staples line from one of her songs, 'I like the things about me that I once despised.' Who would play you in the film of your life?Sharleen Spiteri. What is your most unappealing habit? Interrupting. What scares you about getting older? Not knowing who my family are. Who is your celebrity crush? Julie Walters. What did you want to be when you were growing up? A ballet dancer. What is the worst thing anyone's said to you? 'And for you, sir?' It happens a lot. Would you choose fame or anonymity? A lovely cocktail of both. What was the last lie that you told? How lovely to see you. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion What is your guiltiest pleasure? Giant salt and vinegar Hula Hoops. What do you owe your parents? An apology for all the worry I caused. What does love feel like? Bees humming in a tree of blossom. What was the best kiss of your life? The first time my husband kissed me. We met at a wrap party on a TV show called Neverwhere. Lenny Henry was the exec producer; his band was playing – and it was him, Hugh Laurie, and Ben Elton's wife on bass, but all I could see was this wild man dancing, and he became my husband. What has been your biggest disappointment? Not standing up to bullies. If not yourself, who would you most like to be? More of myself. When's the last time you changed your mind about something significant? When I decided that Mavis Staples was right – I don't need to despise myself. How often do you have sex? Whenever. Would you rather have more sex, money or fame? I'd probably go for Hula Hoops.
