Review: THE DEEP BLUE SEA, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan
In The Deep Blue Sea, Terence Rattigan plunges us into the aftermath of love. Hester Collyer, the daughter of a clergyman and wife of a High Court judge, has left the safety of her marriage for a love affair with Freddie Page, a former RAF pilot. But, as the relationship falls apart, there is a new kind of confrontation, not just with heartbreak, but with the self, Hester must encounter. Freddie is emotionally adrift, unable to meet Hester’s depth of feeling, and Hester, caught between two lives, is spiralling.
Director Lindsay Posner’s production honours the original 1952 setting, embracing its post-war morality and restrained British sensibility. Rather than updating or reimagining, Posner leans into the quiet, and finds its power. Tension sits in the pauses, in the moments between moments, filled with uncertainty and potential chaos. It’s in these silences that the characters’ pain lingers, unspoken but deeply felt.
Tamsin Greig gives a mesmerising performance as Hester. She carries the role with quiet precision, capturing the tension between vulnerability and resolve. There’s an ache in her every movement, but also a dry wit and flickers of defiance that prevent the character from ever descending into victimhood. Her Hester is complicated, contradictory and utterly human.
Hadley Fraser’s Freddie is all charm on the surface, but there's something fragile underneath. His bravado gradually gives way to reveal a man suspended in time, still haunted by the war and unequipped for the emotional world he finds himself in. His connection with Hester is passionate, but deeply mismatched a longing for meaning that neither can quite grasp.
Nicholas Farrell as Sir William Collyer, Hester’s estranged husband, brings a restrained sadness to the stage. His affection for Hester is genuine, though it expresses itself through formality and control. His version of love is measured, dependable, perhaps even redemptive, but it’s not what Hester is searching for.
Finbar Lynch, as the disgraced doctor turned neighbour Mr Miller, becomes the still point in this swirling emotional storm. Dry, sardonic, yet full of empathy, he offers no solutions but plenty of clarity. There’s no judgment in his kindness, only a quiet willingness to be present, and that, in this world, is a radical act.
Selina Cadell brings gentle humour and warmth as Mrs Elton, the landlady, while the supporting cast; Lisa Ambalavanar, Preston Nyman, and Marc Elliot, deftly sketch a society of polite concern, where appearances matter and real feeling often sits just beneath the surface.
Peter McKintosh’s set design consists of worn wallpaper, dull colours and lived-in detail that speaks to lives fraying at the edges. On the walls are Hester’s paintings, work she tries to sell. They are emotionally raw but technically unremarkable and hang like attempts to make meaning out of pain. Others connect to her through them, though she may not recognise herself in the work. This is a detail beautifully weaved into the narrative.
This production doesn’t try to reframe the play for a modern audience. Instead, it trusts the material and the audience enough to sit in its discomfort. The result is a moving, restrained, and quietly devastating piece of theatre. In a world still grappling with identity, duty, and desire, The Deep Blue Sea feels as relevant as ever, a stark reminder that love is rarely tidy, and even less often enough.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Stephanie Osztreicher
The Deep Blue Sea plays at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket until 21 June, with further info here.
