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Honour, Park Theatre, review

November 1, 2018

An excellent cast – and accomplished direction – can’t quite rescue the Park’s revival of Honour from a text that feels dated, formulaic and self-satisfied.

Joanna Murray-Smith’s Honour deconstructs an idea still perpetuated by rom-coms, Disney flicks and trite Instagrammers. In the lone context of love and longing, we’re conditioned to understand that ‘following our hearts’ will always pay dividends. Logic can take a back seat, we’re told, because that vascular organ inside us ‘knows the way’ (and leads us to salvation) like nothing else can.

Like her eponymous central character (forsaken, after a 32-year marriage, for a woman her daughter’s age), Murray-Smith clearly sets out to prove this notion is as facile as they come. But Honour seems so preoccupied with magniloquent monologues (wherein characters ‘unpack’ their thought-processes and life choices like they’re delivering disquisitions) that – for a piece about human desire – proceedings come across as oddly impassive. Astute observations (mini-theses, practically) about the complexities of modern relationships are undoubtedly present, but stitched into a verbose text that often also feels a bit self-congratulatory.

Performances in the Park’s revival are, thankfully, unanimously strong though. Katie Brayben’s portrayal of Claudia (the career-focused, emerging journalist who’s aware and comfortable with her sexuality) is impressively sympathetic. Imogen Stubbs is definitely ‘theatrical’ as Honor (perhaps even hammy, at times), but I think the writing – particularly for her character – almost demands it. Her injection of energy into wordy scenes is also often a welcome relief. Natalie Simpson’s Sophie (daughter of George & Honor) delivers an arresting final monologue that’s more than worth the wait, and Henry Goodman is extremely competent as a narcissist who isn’t sure how, or whether it’s possible, to sustain a relationship when passion fades. Paul Robinson’s direction is also impressive; it’s apparent he’s done the due diligence (as much as possible, without changing the text anyway) to re-explore Honour‘s central arguments, and how to present each character, with the fresh eyes of 2018 – and he’s to be commended for that.

In sum, I basically sit through Honour nodding along to its interesting ideas, appreciating the performances and laughing in the right places – but simultaneously waiting for a bite or a ‘rug-pull’ moment that never materialises. I leave thinking that, if anything, too many ideas were not only crammed in but deconstructed to an inch of their lives; just like George’s issue with Claudia’s writing, perhaps not enough is left unsaid.

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Arthur Jones
Arthur graduated from Warwick's Theatre and Performance course in 2014 with first-class honours, the Student Prize and a lot of opinions. Alongside two coursemates, he started an interactive theatre company and has been taking studio shows to Edinburgh's Underbelly, London's Camden People's Theatre and more for the last four years. He works on the production team for The Jamie Lloyd Company and ATG Productions, and also teaches drama and singing at LCN Performing Arts every weekend, an independent performing arts school in Lewisham (which is where he grew up).

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