Ecstasy

Synopsis

Set in Kilburn bed-sit land in 1979, this painfully sad but often funny and exhilarating play revolves around three days in Jean's life, as she battles to find meaning and happiness within her lonely existence. Following an explosive confrontation with her boyfriend Roy and his violent wife Val, Jean goes out for a night on the town with her friend Dawn, returning with Dawn's husband Mick, old mate Len and a very large carry-out from the off licence, for an evening filled with drunken hilarity, raucous banter and surprising tenderness.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 16 March 2011

Mike Leigh’s Ecstasy, the first play of his that he has returned to and directed a second time, begins and ends with a woman lying on a bed and a man sitting meekly beside her in a dingy Kilburn bedsit.

First, she’s naked, and so is he; they’ve just had sex. It obviously wasn’t much fun (we find out why, later). Secondly, she’s shaking and crying and drunk and curled up on the same, now badly broken, bed while another man sits in a chair by the one-bar electric fire.

These tableaux are like paintings by Lucian Freud. In between, the woman, Jean (Sian Brooke), a heavy-drinking garage attendant, deals with a second, unpleasant visit by the first man (Daniel Coonan), suffers a violent incursion by his wife (Claire-Louise Cordwell), and hosts the grimmest Friday night post-pub party you’ve ever seen.

Leigh is right to be proud of this play, which he first produced on the old Hampstead stage in 1979...

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Latest User Review

Gareth James - 17 May 2011:

Mike Leigh’s work is never cosy and comfortable and this is no exception. He has the knack of lulling you into a false sense of security, laughing at his ever so real characters, before shocking, horrifying and shaming you into sympathy with (most of) them. It’s not a fun night out, but one you can’t help admiring. Ecstasy takes place in Jean’s bedsit in Kilburn around the time the 70′s become the 80′s. Her friend Dawn is encouraging her to go out and have fun. Unbeknown to her, she’s a lonely alcoholic being abused (again?) by a casual sexual partner. After a short first act, the second is a continuous 100 minutes of post-pub revelry with Dawn and her husband Mick and mutual acquaintance Len. Of course, it all ends in tears. The main reason for seeing this play is a set of outstanding performances. Stepping into the shoes of original cast members like Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Stephen Rea must be tough, but they all make the roles their own. Sian Brooke has the most difficult role and her journey from fear and repressed emotion to moving confession is extraordinary. I thought Sinead Matthews over-acted in The Glass Menagerie at the Young Vic last year, but here she gets the loud grotesque Dawn spot on, with some superb physical acting. If one of those slips of paper that fall out of programmes hadn’t, you would never have known Jack Bennett was the understudy for Len – a terrific performance. It is to Daniel Coonan’s credit that you positively detest Roy, Jean’s abuser. Allen Leech is good as Mick, as is Clare Louise-Cordwell in the small part of Val, Roy’s wife. Alison Chitty’s cramped bedsit looks lost, even on the Duchess’ small stage, but provides a suitably claustrophobic performance space with excellent period detail. Leigh’s direction is of course masterly. It is a bit overlong, but in a way that’s why it has such impact when it slaps you in the face – life is full of dull moments before the high’s and low’s turn up. We’re also more used to this kind of gritty realism today, so it’s less shocking and ground-breaking than it no doubt was in 1979 (or when I first saw it in the early 90′s in a revival at the New End in Hampstead). It’s good to see serious stuff like this make it to the West End and do well. As I said, not an easy ride, but one I’m very glad I took. ...

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