Review: The Deep Blue Sea, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham

What does it mean to be in love? And is there a way to keep your head above water when love fails you? The Deep Blue Sea gives a striking and very human insight into these questions following the failed suicide of a woman who believes herself unloved.

Hester has left her relatively secure marriage to a judge for the young ex-RAF pilot Freddie Page.

None of the neighbours see much of her, but when Freddie forgets her birthday, Hester’s drastic response begins to unravel the histories and feelings of all the characters around her.

The play works through the tensions the day after the incident, from the discovery of an unconscious Hester in the morning to the next evening when she may have the chance to try again. In the course of twenty-four hours, Hess and Freddie struggle to find a future in the emotional mess of love, loss and past hurts.

The Crescent Theatre Company do a remarkable job of communicating the vulnerability of each character. Hester (Kate Owen) gives a particularly well-sustained and sensitive performance. No one character is allowed to remain two-dimensional; all are flawed and yet oddly sympathetic in spite of themselves. The overall effect is a startlingly honest and very raw portrayal of human helplessness and will.

Style-wise, The Deep Blue Sea fits somewhere between Hedda Gabler and A Streetcar Named Desire. It’s not all heavy drama though, Mr Miller injects a bit of comedy every now and then by bluntly ripping through subtext as a voice of unequivocal reason in the ‘sea’ of emotion.

One point to consider is where you sit: the studio has tiered seating either side of a central performance area. While the actors take care to face all sides of the room over the course of the play, a corner seat may leave your view temporarily blocked by a door opening onto the set.

The one stagehand transition in the fixed domestic setting also felt a little clumsy, which was a shame considering that the acting and pace were so carefully thought-out.

Nevertheless, on the whole, this is an amateur theatre production that’s worth watching, well-acted and emotionally intense with a touching finish.