You’d be forgiven for expecting a play from 1950 to be a curiosity; a hackneyed tale with little relevance to the way we live today. That’s not what director Derek Watts is promising at Lewes Little Theatre this month. Instead, he’s delivering a psychological thriller that blends humour into a genuinely touching love story. “The plot of Accolade almost sounds like a 21st-century response to celebrity culture and media corruption”, he explains. It’s hard to disagree. Playwright Emlyn Williams offers the story of a famous novelist whose personal life is exposed. “Definitely sordid” admits the lead character, Will Trenting. His racy stories have apparently been inspired by his behaviour, not just his imagination. And the truth is about to be revealed to his readers.
Parallels between the writer and his creation are obvious – and not merely because Williams took the lead role at the London premiere. In the play, Will’s private promiscuity is a shock to his publisher but no surprise to his wife, who tolerated it as part of his personality. Williams, his creator, had a similarly secret life: he was bisexual at a time when this could have resulted in him spending a lifetime in prison, yet he also had the support of his wife. However, composing a script that was acceptable to contemporary audiences and to the Lord Chamberlain, who had the power to censor plays, meant the plot needed a heterosexual theme. It was a characteristically clever move from Williams, known to many as the ‘Welsh Noel Coward’: the Lord Chamberlain didn’t ask to change a single word. The result is Williams’s “most direct and moving confrontation with his own double nature”, says Derek Watts. “Though it is a very theatrical piece, the issues it deals with are very much of today.”
This certainly is a timely production. As well as inviting us to consider the media’s obsession with celebrity, Accolade also considers the privacy of famous people and asks us to reflect on whether we can enjoy art if we are opposed to the lifestyle of the artist. “The subject is completely fearless and the naturalistic language means that the audience do not see the punches coming”, says Derek. Indeed, the audience is placed at the heart of the proceedings, with a set by Michael Folkard that’s designed to make us a key part of the action rather than sitting in judgement. “We are aiming to make the audience feel like guests of the family”, Derek explains, “so that when the various shocking pieces of news break, they feel like it was happening to friends.”
Accolade is being presented by Lewes Theatre Club from 11th - 18th May. www.lewestheatre.org
First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 152 May 2019
Parallels between the writer and his creation are obvious – and not merely because Williams took the lead role at the London premiere. In the play, Will’s private promiscuity is a shock to his publisher but no surprise to his wife, who tolerated it as part of his personality. Williams, his creator, had a similarly secret life: he was bisexual at a time when this could have resulted in him spending a lifetime in prison, yet he also had the support of his wife. However, composing a script that was acceptable to contemporary audiences and to the Lord Chamberlain, who had the power to censor plays, meant the plot needed a heterosexual theme. It was a characteristically clever move from Williams, known to many as the ‘Welsh Noel Coward’: the Lord Chamberlain didn’t ask to change a single word. The result is Williams’s “most direct and moving confrontation with his own double nature”, says Derek Watts. “Though it is a very theatrical piece, the issues it deals with are very much of today.”
This certainly is a timely production. As well as inviting us to consider the media’s obsession with celebrity, Accolade also considers the privacy of famous people and asks us to reflect on whether we can enjoy art if we are opposed to the lifestyle of the artist. “The subject is completely fearless and the naturalistic language means that the audience do not see the punches coming”, says Derek. Indeed, the audience is placed at the heart of the proceedings, with a set by Michael Folkard that’s designed to make us a key part of the action rather than sitting in judgement. “We are aiming to make the audience feel like guests of the family”, Derek explains, “so that when the various shocking pieces of news break, they feel like it was happening to friends.”
Accolade is being presented by Lewes Theatre Club from 11th - 18th May. www.lewestheatre.org
First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 152 May 2019
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