Versailles

As 2014 marks the centenary year of the First World War, it seems entirely fitting that there’s currently a significant increase in interest surrounding the conflict. The BBC’s World War One season is starting to gain traction, with documentaries and dramas either already aired or in the pipeline for the coming months. It’s not only the television that’s seizing the moment: the theatre world is joining in too. 

Birdsong has embarked on a national tour; Oh! What a Lovely War is playing at Stratford East; The SilverTassie is coming to the Lyttleton Theatre at the National in April; and War Horse continues to go from strength to strength, recently adding a National Theatre Live performance to its repertoire. World War One is – quite rightly – providing endless source material for theatre, and as a venue noted for its innovation and variety it comes as no surprise that the Donmar Warehouse is exploring this period too, with an examination into the post-war peace process in Peter Gill’s new play, Versailles.

(IMAGE SOURCED FROM www.faber.co.uk)

Following the signing of the armistice, life for the Rawlinsons and their friends is slowly returning to as it was before the war. The family’s son, Leonard Rawlinson, is selected as one of the British delegation sent to Versailles to help draw up the treaty that would define Europe, the Middle East and the rest of the world. However, the ghost of a past lover haunts him and Leonard begins to seriously question the choices made in Paris and the effect they will have on millions of people for centuries to come.

Leonard Rawlinson (Gwilym Lee) and Gerald Chater (Tom Hughes)

With a running time of three hours Versailles is an incredibly long play, almost feeling as though it mirrors the arduous task of drawing up the treaty itself. Luckily however, the production is neatly split into three acts divided by two intervals, beginning in Kent in January 1919, moving to Paris in April and then back to Kent in June. The play is bookended by acts in the Rawlinsons’ lavishly decorated drawing room, and Richard Hudson’s intricately furnished set is a feast for the eyes. There’s no shortage of props from elaborate afternoon tea sets to sewing kits to enormous maps, and the sheer attention to detail makes it a joy to watch. The middle act, following Leonard to Paris, sees the ornate Hotel Astoria, his room transformed into an office to house two delegates for the Peace Conference.

Leonard Rawlinson and Mabel Rawlinson (Tamla Kari)

 Given the nature of the Peace Conference and the subject matter at hand, it seems obvious that the play would be serious and steeped in history. However, Versailles is so heavily cloaked in historical facts, figures, and dates that is does unfortunately seem a little like a dramatised lecture at points. The plot languishes in the overwhelming shadow of the history. In the first act, family friend Geoffrey Ainsworth – a staunch, opinionated Tory – speaks at great length about American President Woodrow Wilson’s ideals of self-determination and a peace based on his Fourteen Points. After a while, the character doesn’t even seem to be forming an argument or advancing the plot, instead merely reciting a narrative of the period. 

Geoffrey Ainsworth (Adrian Lukis)

Playwright (and director) Gill has clearly done his homework, and his extensive research shows how literature can be simultaneously enthralling for an audience and historically accurate. The only problem is that after a while the quest to firmly root the play in a historical context comes at the expense of interesting character development and a more exciting plot.

Leonard Rawlinson and Henry Sedgwick Bell (Edward Killingback)

Versailles does have touching moments in amongst the history, displaying excellent acting. Bright, young civil servant Leonard (Gwilym Lee) is frequently visited by the ghost of his former lover killed during the war – Gerald Chater (Tom Hughes), a man who appears forever immortalised in his army uniform. These encounters clearly take place in Leonard’s head, and his downward spiral as his anguish grows throughout the play is masterfully executed. 

Leonard Rawlinson and Gerald Chater

His sister (Tamla Kari) meanwhile contemplates breaking off her engagement to Hugh (Josh O’Connor), and his turn as a man haunted by the trenches but determined to assure everyone he’s “chipper” is brilliant. 

Hugh Skidmore (Josh O'Connor) and Mabel Rawlinson

The mothers at the heart of the scenes in Kent, the bossy Edith Rawlinson (Francesca Annis) and cold Marjorie Chater (Barbara Flynn), play off each other wonderfully, and highlight the generational differences with issues of race and empire.

Marjorie Chater (Barbara Flynn) and Edith Rawlinson (Francesca Annis)

Helen Bradbury’s Constance Finch has a rousing first act, displaying a woman with a clear command of current affairs and strong opinions concerning war. She’s a modern working woman and it’s a shame that after such a successful first act she’s woefully underused in the rest of the play. 

Constance Finch (Helen Bradbury) and Arthur Chater (Christopher Goodwin)

One of the most moving performances of the night came from Christopher Goodwin as Arthur Chater – a man who retains a middle class stoicism regarding his son’s death for the majority of the play until his façade slips in the most heartbreaking manner. It’s moments like this that thankfully move the play away from the avalanche of statistics and ground it in humanity. Throwing staggering figures of the dead into the text just doesn’t have the same impact as hearing a man weep for his dead son.

Henry Sedgwick Bell, Angela Isham (Selina Griffiths), The Honourable Frederick Gibb (Simon Williams) and Ethel (Eleanor Yates)

(ALL PRODUCTION IMAGES SOURCED FROM www.donmarwarehouse.com)

Versailles is truly an excellent production. Tackling the Treaty of Versailles was always going to be a difficult task, and Gill has discovered an inventive way to cover it in this beautifully staged and superbly acted piece. However, there’s no denying that it is simply too long and sadly a little dull: a middle class commentary on the post-war period and perceived impossibility of restoring peace in Europe is not enough to sustain an audience’s attention for three hours. Versailles needed more plot and less history, an unfortunately odd concept in a year that is embracing the subject.

****

Versailles

20th February 2014 - 5th April 2014

Evenings Monday-Saturday 7.30pm

Matinees Thursday & Saturday 2.30pm

Donmar Warehouse, 41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London, WC2H 9LX

More information about the production and ticket availability can be found here