Review: A Passionate Woman at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud

4 STARS. Originally produced in 1992 Kay Mellors's, A Passionate Woman, is a concise drama that verges on farce and straddles a sentimental universality, says Judith Conyers

Anthony Eden and Liza Goddard_A Passsionate Woman CREDIT TWM.jpg

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Anthony Eden & Liza Goddard

Betty (Lisa Goddard), married for 40 years to Donald ( Russell Dixon), retreats to her attic on the morning of her only sons wedding. Here she reflects on life, love and the fact that 'the only good thing is slipping away'. (Her son is 37 – hardly rushing into marriage). In this attic space she rejects the pleas of her son to come down and conjurers up the spirit of a lover past, Craze (Hasan Dixon).

Parallels can be drawn with 'Shirley Valentine', 'Blythe Spirit' or Ray Cooney and John Chapman's 'There Goes the Bride'. The spirit introduces a danger, a farcical element that pushes the action forward and allows us to enjoy some set comic pieces. At times these felt a little forced, not fully played for reality which is so necessary with farce, so whilst the audience are happy to laugh they are more appreciative of the revelatory discourse from Betty.

Lisa Goddard as Betty, the universal housewife, manages to both pull at our heartstrings with her contemplations and make us consider the bigger picture of life that 'could have been'. The play is set in Leeds but the Surrey audience still recognise her. As a Leeds Lass myself I found the identification harder as Ms Goddard didn't fully crack the accent. Does this matter? Probably not, we are in 'Yorkshire Speak', tell it like it is the punters love it!

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Russell Dixon and Anthony Eden

Antony Eden as Mark, Betty's son, offered assured comic timing as he tried to persuade his mother from the attic and refute the possibility of a ghost in the attic. Russell Dixon as Donald, Betty's husband of 40 years, starts as the belligerent husband but moves us to realise there is more beneath his bluster.

Michale Holt's set is inherent to the plot, the hidden secrets of the attic move to the more profound arena of the open roof top that allow the visual and dramatic climaxes to take course.

This touring version, produced by The Everyman Cheltenham, provides a pleasant evening of nostalgia, pathos, humour and a few big comedy moments that at times felt they could have been even bigger.