Blue Remembered Hills - 4.5 out of 5 stars
Perspective Arts Theatre Company
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Blue Remembered Hills is Dennis Potter’s 1979 television
play, set in the Forest of Dean. It follows seven children as they play,
quarrel, fantasise and turn against one another over an afternoon. The
playwright’s device in ensuring adults are cast as children is to unsettle the
audience’s expectations, presenting childhood not as inherently innocent, but
as a concentrated reflection of adult society.
Through Geoff Brittain’s direction, we are challenged to the
idea that children are naturally innocent. While children are imaginative and
affectionate, they are also casually violent, vindictive and fascinated by
domination. Their cruelty appears spontaneous rather than evil, making it
especially disturbing, and Brittain conveys this contradiction effectively. His
direction ensures they are not simply presented as “little adults”, but instead
their behaviour exposes the primitive structures beneath adult society, competing
for status, forming alliances, bullying weaker members and using games to
rehearse power, sexuality and violence.
Sam Wiseman captures Willie’s willingness to follow rather
than lead. His natural energy makes Willie feel like a child who is eager to
belong, even when he is swept along by the more dominant personalities around
him. Wiseman’s accent is clear and well sustained, while he embraces the
character’s playful, impulsive behaviour fully.
Kim Clark brings considerable physical confidence to Peter,
making his bullying nature immediate without crossing into caricature. His
posture, movement and vocal delivery establish Peter as someone accustomed to
taking control. Clark’s accent work and unrestrained performance capture the underlying
insecurity of a child who relies on intimidation to maintain his position.
Scott Battersby offers an important counterbalance to
Peter’s aggression. He is convincing in the way John challenges Peter whenever
the situation demands it, while remaining part of the group’s wider games and
rivalries. Battersby’s character work help him convey a child who is beginning
to recognise the consequences of cruelty, even when he does not always have the
courage to prevent it.
Lochie Daniel gives Raymond the anxious boy vibes whose
vulnerability is evident in both his speech and physical manner. His stutter is
handled with great care and consistency, becoming part of Raymond’s insecurity
rather than a source of easy comedy. Daniel’s accent remains strong throughout,
and his committed, uninhibited physicality makes Raymond’s nervous energy
palpable.
Anita Zamberlan Canala brings confidence and self-awareness
to Angela, the girl who understands the influence attractiveness gives her. She
flaunts it with convincing ease, while allowing glimpses of the insecurity
beneath it. Zamberlan Canala’s accent is assured, and her expressive
performance captures Angela’s ability to shift between flirtation, provocation
and childish playfulness.
Nicole Rutty presents Audrey as jealous, watchful and capable
of spite, making the character’s resentment towards Angela clear without
reducing Audrey to a single emotion. Rutty’s character work supports a
performance that is sharply observed, while her physical reactions add depth to
the character’s frustration.
Liam James gives a deeply affecting performance as Donald, a
lonely and vulnerable child nicknamed “Donald Duck”. James captures Donald’s
yearning for acceptance and the pain of being repeatedly mocked and excluded.
His portrayal is particularly effective when he allows Donald’s pyromania to
emerge from the character’s isolation and volatility. James sustains extraordinary
energy and brings a lack of inhibition to the role, making Donald’s childish
enthusiasm increasingly difficult to separate from the danger gathering around
him.
While we hear children’s language and see their games, we see
adult bodies, adult performers and adult awareness of the consequences. The
result is initially comic but becomes increasingly outrageous and tragic as the
play progresses. The central challenge is preserving both sides of the play:
the energy and absurdity of adults playing children, and the horror of watching
that develop into collective responsibility for a death. Brittain and his team
do an excellent job of ensuring both sides work together.
The visual elements work effectively in tandem. For much of
the play, the audience sits with a projected image of a barn, supported by hay
bales and other practical elements. As the production moves towards its climax,
the imagery shifts with the trajectory of the story, creating a striking
theatrical effect.
The set, courtesy of PitchWhite Productions, consists of
trees, a mound, autumnal foliage and the framework of the barn, giving the
performers a flexible environment to play with. Richard Parkhill’s lighting
design and Ray Trowbridge’s sound design further enhance the technical
ensemble, helping the atmosphere darken as the children’s games take a more
disturbing turn.
Geoff Brittain’s Blue Remembered Hills is an ambitious and
unsettling production that balances childhood playfulness with the darker
impulses beneath it. Its committed cast embrace the physicality, vocal demands
and lack of inhibition required by Potter’s concept, while the design team
gives the story a vivid and increasingly ominous setting. What begins as an afternoon
of childish games becomes a confronting examination of cruelty, complicity and
lost innocence.
- Andrew Broadbent
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