Review: DEAR LIAR, Jermyn Street Theatre
Photo credit: David Monteith-Hodge
Once in a while, a play manages to shed light on forgotten lives that might otherwise stay buried in the pages of history. Dear Liar will therefore be a pleasant surprise to many as it recreates a relationship between legendary playwright, George Bernard Shaw, and the actor Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner, better known as Mrs Patrick Campbell. 'Mrs Pat', as she was affectionately known, was Shaw's muse and wrote Pygmalion with her in mind. This play - adapted by Jerome Kilty - tells their story using the many letters they exchanged. Theirs was a smouldering romance that never quite ignited but remained hidden in plain sight.
The story begins with George Bernard Shaw (Alan Turkington) and Mrs Pat (Rachel Pickup) explaining how the letters were preserved and saved from destruction. Mrs Pat is known as Stella throughout a play that runs for an economical one hour and fifty minutes. We learn of their first meeting and how circumstances stifled a mutual passion. There is deep insight given to the evolution of Pygmalion, and the creation of Eliza Doolittle especially for Stella.
Their relationship stretched across the Great War with its endless trials and tribulations. Whilst Stella toured America, George remained ensconced in England, and was an overt critic of the war. They remained in regular contact via the unique intimacy offered by letter writing. Stella confessed the deepest of fears for her son serving on the Western Front, whilst George remained belligerent in his opposition to the war. The Armistice is signed but they remained combative as arguments ensued about publication of their letters. As the world hurtles towards another global conflict, they reflect on their lives and what might have been. Approaching their sunset years they contemplate the path not taken when clearly kindred spirits.
Dear Liar is a brilliantly constructed two-hander that exploits the intimacy of letter writing. In an era when feelings were repressed, many suffered in silence. But Stella and George could cut loose from a Victorian upbringing and pour their feelings onto a page. Emotions could be articulated in a letter that betray the deepest thoughts of the author. When exchanged between two people they can form the basis of virtual conversations that might otherwise have never happened. Now we lazily fall back on emails and WhatsApp messages where words are frequently replaced by emojis. It teaches us the importance of prose and how written communication can say so much more. Not only that we learn more about a great literary figure and his inspiration.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Brian Penn
Dear Liar plays at London’s Jermyn Street Theatre until 7 March, with further info here.
