THE DEEP BLUE SEA – REVIEW OF 2025 THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

Terence Rattigan’s 1952 play The Deep Blue Sea gets a major revival at the gorgeous Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. It is directed by veteran director Lindsay Posner with set and costume designs by Peter McIntosh. It stars Tamsin Greig as Hester Collyer, Hadley Fraser as Freddie and Nicholas Farrell as Sir William Collyer.

The plot is simple. Hester is found unconscious in her apartment after her landlady smelled gas. She entered the apartment and found an empty bottle of sleeping pills and concluded that Hester had attempted to kill herself. It is true, she did.

The rest of the play attempts to explain the reasons for her attempt. Hester is the daughter of a minister and has some painting talent. She was married to Sir William Collyer, a judge of the High Court whom she left. Farrell gives a fine performance as the decent man who loves his wife but did not and perhaps could not offer her the sexual satisfaction that she needs.

Her way out was a relationship with Freddie, and it is difficult to say anything positive about him. He is an incipient alcoholic, selfish, unemployed, thoughtless and lazy. He may have made an impression as a test pilot at the beginning. He no longer loves her, but he is still good in bed. Fraser is superb as the swaggering, former test pilot who is looking for work when he is no longer capable of doing it. Superb performance.

Scene from The Deep Blue Sea. Photo by Manuel Harlan

Her husband (they are not divorced yet) is a gentleman, successful, thoughtful and generous. We get glimpses of their married life and there is no doubt that for all his sterling qualities Sir William was not a passionate lover. Freddie is and his main attraction is probably his sexual prowess. At its lowest, it seems that Hester leaves her husband for sexual pleasure. The politer version would be love and perhaps at the beginning a more exciting life. All of that is in the past and at present Freddie is a jerk.

His friend Jack Jackson (Marc Elliott) sets an example of living well and being responsible, but that view does not register with Freddie.

Hester’s neighbor Miller (Finbar Lynch) gives an example of decency with a sense of humour. He studied medicine but is no longer permitted to practice. No explanation is  given but his current job as a bookie. He helps Hester medically but when asked if she might do it again, he replies “I am not a prophet. He has an instinctive understanding and empathy for Hester’s condition. Haltingly he tries to give some insight to Hester about her life and life in general and in the end, he appears to have some success. 

I was not entirely satisfied with Tamsin Greig’s performance as Hester. She is a deeply troubled woman who took a brave step in leaving life at the top with a High Court judge and a knight. She fell in love  (give her credit for it) and it was a disastrous decision but she cannot easily extricate herself from it. Greig did not display the strength of character  and at times appeared almost mousy. She is not. Unfortunately, Greig did not define the role of Hester for me and was not a convincing protagonist.

The set by McIntosh consisted of a large but rundown apartment that looked appropriate for a woman in bad financial straits. The rent had not been paid for a month and she was trying to sell some paintings to make ends meet. Freddie offered nothing.

Lindsay Posner is an experienced director and does superb work with the production but he may not have got the best out of Greig in her portrayal of Hester.

There is an autobiographical and mythical angle to the play. The mythological angel that occurs to me is that of Helen of Troy who left her husband King Menelaus to run off with Paris. Was Menelaus a bore in bed? Unlike Hester, Helen went back to her husband and we don’t know how he felt.

The play may hark back to Greek mythology but for Terence Rattigan it had an autobiographical inspiration. The gay playwright was abandoned by his young lover for another man. He could not very well write a play about homosexual love in 1952 but this was his way of expiating a terrible chapter in his life. Menelaus would have understood. 

A very good night at the theatre.

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The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan played at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, 18 Suffolk Street London SW1Y 4HT London, England. www.trh.co.uk

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto.