Meaty drama focuses on family issues

RECENT productions at Belgrade B2 have suffered from poor lighting, so a play called The Dark at the Top of the Stairs could have been a Psycho-style drama lit by a single swinging light bulb. Instead the set, lighting and costumes were a real feast for the eye.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, written in 1957, is a multi-layered play which looks at relationships between men and women, family life, small town society and the changing face of America when the pioneer past was overthrown by the arrival of the automobile.

It starts with the relationship between Cora and Rubin Flood, a strong man from ranching stock who rode into town and got Cora pregnant within a month of their first meeting. She is a settler who is keenly aware of the prejudices and social nuances of a society where the edicts of the Country Club hold sway.

They have two children, Reenie and Sonny, who are both social misfits. Reenie likes to play the piano and avoids social situations, while Sonny, bullied by his classmates, has an unnaturally close relationship with his mother and is obsessed with Hollywood. As the play unfolds we see that Sonny is not just a confused adolescent but is emotionally damaged and easily loses control.

Rubin Flood, totally believable as portrayed by Andrew Whipp, spends time on the road avoiding contact with his family, at a loss in a world where his knowledge and skills are no longer prized.

There are some great parts in the play and the highlights were Sonny (Philip Lacey) and Jessica Martin as Cora’s sister Lottie. She provided comic relief and provided a different perspective on the marriage of Cora and Rubin.

The minor characters include Flirt, ably played by Jenny-May Darcy who started her career in the Belgrade Youth Theatre, her love interest Punky and a young Jewish visitor Sammy, who seems to hold the key to the family’s happiness until he is destroyed by small town anti-Semitism.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is a really meaty drama, an absorbing picture of a destructive marriage in an uncaring society.

Sal McKeown

Caption:

Olivia Vinall as Rennie and Caroline Faber as Cora in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs at the Belgrade Theatre. Picture by Robert Day.