"Three Tall Women" by Edward Albee
Nottingham Lace Market Theatre

The play centres around three women; a 92 year old woman, a 52 year old hired caretaker and a 26 year old lawyer working on behalf of the eldest woman’s law firm.

The women, who have no given names, I’ll call A, B and C.

The play opens with the three women together in A's bedroom. Throughout the scene, A does most of the talking, frequently reminiscing and telling stories about her life. B humours her, while helping her do everyday things that have become difficult to do alone. C, who struggles to get a rare word edgewise about the duties she's there to do, is most often deterred by A's storytelling. C often challenges A's statements; but she is discouraged by B, who is clearly used to A and her habits.

Act Two sees the three characters all as A at different stages of her life recalling A’s past, and it's this section where we find out about the loves, and experiences that they went through at the various times of their lives. we also discover that she had a son, who they call "the boy" throughout.

There's a lot of comedy but there's also a lot of sombre moments throughout both acts.

Amanda Pearce plays “A”, and in Act One you can feel the pain of this 92 year old as she gingerly makes her way from her chair to the toilet with help from "B". The physicality of this role is perfect, and what surprised me was seeing Amanda in Act Two when the shaking, twisted and physically broken A appeared as a younger self. A really well observed character piece of theatre presented by Amanda and a great debut for the Lace Market Theatre for Amanda.

Susan Lee plays “B” and Act two again brought about another wonderful piece of character acting. While B in Act One seemed to show an almost defeated character, Act two saw A in full strength, fiery and in her prime, and the main narrator of the piece.

Charlotte Thomas plays “C” and while Act Two saw us discovering more about the younger years of "A", wanting to know more about what was to come from the other two elder "A" characters, but not everything she learned was what she wanted to hear.

Some of the language used by the "A" characters was quite explicit, When delivered by the 92 year old "A" came as quite a shock, well it would do hearing what occurred in her dressing room from a ninety plus year old looking back at her life.

Harrison Lee plays the part of the boy in Albee’s play, and while it being a non speaking role, I don't think it would have worked without the physical presence of "the boy".

This play is a brilliant and emotional play for women to present, and the choices for the cast were well chosen.

Allan Green was the Lighting Designer, and the subtlety of the design was not wasted on me. The closing in on the focused actor on stage really made the audience member focus, and I also liked the image through light of the window effect on stage. this in itself made us feel that we were voyeurs, peeping through the windows into someone else's life. It also gave character "C" a reason for moving to the front of the stage in Act One, as if she was looking out of a window and not just staring out from the stage. It painted a picture which is what fine lighting design can do.

Read the original article here.

Theatre Review: Three Tall Women at Lace Market Theatre

First premiered in 1994 in New York, it's a play about three women at varying stages of life...

One (elderly and dying) women approximately aged ninety, another aged approximately in her fifty’s (middle-aged) and another in her twenties. They’re all together in the elderly woman’s bedroom, waiting for her death.

The opening scene resonated with me and I guess with many others too, with an elderly parent who is ‘waiting to die.’ It felt quite sombre. Character A was sat in a chair looking unhappy with her head in her hand. I took a breath, and I heard others too, possibly a reminder for them of a lost loved one – that was until Character A started talking.

The play was a mixture of serious subject matters – instance romance, disappointments, race, sex, illness, death and life – all intertwined with comedy; it showcases the frailty of life and how quickly it can change. They were emotive subjects, but they were delivered in a way that was thought-provoking. Each character had their own experiences and shared them throughout too. However, Character A’s illness had a profound effect on Character B and C, which was reflected in the opening scene of Act Two.

I found it interesting that Character A, according to Edward Albee, was based on his "adoptive mother, whom I knew from my infancy until her death." The character appeared to be in pain physically and emotionally, along with having with dementia or Alzheimer's, therefore getting lost in her thoughts at times. The portrayal of Character A was believable and the way she moved across the stage (crying out in physical pain) resonated with me and reminded me of my mother.

I was impressed by the lengthy dialogue that was delivered without fault, except for one minor prompt, but then that’s the beauty of a first night. The theatre wasn’t as full as I had expected. However, those who had attended showed their appreciation at the end with hearty applause.

Read the original article here.

THREE TALL WOMEN Lace Market Theatre

Wordy self-indulgence

INITIALLY Edward Albee's Three Tall Women seems straightforward enough. A beautifully lit and furnished room - a huge bed and some antique chairs. Three women are seated: an aged woman in nightwear (Woman A), a middle-aged woman, her paid carer (Woman B), and between them a young professional-looking woman taking notes, who it becomes clear is a lawyer (Woman C).

It's an extraordinarily wordy first act with very little development in terms of action or revelation. Helped along by Woman B, Woman A reminisces about her early life, while Woman C, increasingly impatient and unsympathetic, tries to make sense of the confused narrative.

Then the old woman suffers a heart attack and is put to bed for the rest of the play. After the interval revelations become far more explicit. It becomes completely clear that each of the three women is a representation of the same person at different ages: 92, 52 and 26. And the woman's son, who as a youth was rejected by his mother for being gay, comes on as a non-speaking ghostly presence, to be talked about by all three of them. The end of the play offers a more or less positive resolution to the internal psychological to and fro.

Opinions will differ. For this reviewer, the play is too wordy and self-indulgent to satisfy. Albee's earlier masterpiece, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, was wordy in the extreme but it gripped and entertained; this one does neither. But everyone who sees this production - directed by Max Bromley - will surel n quality of the three main performances, from Amanda Pearce (A), Susan Lee (B) and Charlotte Thomas (C). That of Pearce, playing not only the 92-year-old, but in Act Two a somewhat younger self is truly exceptional.

@PhilofBeeston

Three Tall Women @LMTheatre won Edward Albee a Pulitzer Prize for forensic portrayal of aging and self-awareness. After a seemingly conventional Act1, play really comes alive in 2nd half. Amanda Pearce shines in Act 1 with portrait of old age - whole cast share honours in Act 2.

23:03 - 14 Oct 19

Matthew James Finkel

14 Oct 19

Fantastic production and cast. Everyone should get their tickets now!!!!

Kathryn Edwards

14 Oct 19

Saw this tonight! It was amazing! Superb cast. Fantastic characterisation and compelling viewing. A MUST SEE!!

Bloody loved it!! You were amazing Charlotte. Great play!

David Howley

16 Oct 19

Stunning performances by everyone. Where do you find all these very accomplished actors? Beautiful set, too. A special mention for Amanda Pearce... mesmerising! Well done, Max Bromley.

David Dunford

17 Oct 19

I’ve rarely been as proud to be a member of the Lace Market Theatre as I was last night. With the refurbished foyer, a visitor’s first impressions are of a smart and professional organisation, and this is confirmed by the auditorium itself – still as comfortable as it used to be, but no longer with the slightly shabby, run down feel it used to have. You expect a quality show in such an environment, and in Three Tall Women we certainly have one. Not an easy play to do: it’s wordy, bleak in tone and largely static. But this wonderful performance brought out the poetry and humour, made the (on paper) rather contrived looking twist in the second Act convincing and brought out the fact that by confronting bleakness (in this case aging and the loss of hope) one is also triumphing over it. And this production is certainly a triumph.

Grace Eden

20 Oct 19

I was spellbound by this show last night! Just incredible! Fantastic script, extremely well executed. So glad I went to see it and what a show you missed if you didn't. Exceptional particularly from Amanda Pearce. Wow. Masterclass in acting and stagecraft.Well done all!