Tom and Viv

Synopsis

Few people know of the tragic secret that lay beneath the success of T.S. Eliot, one of the world's greatest poets, this is that story...1914 and Vivienne Haigh-Wood a beautiful and precocious young woman visits Tom Eliot, a young American student in Oxford. After a brief and passionate courtship they marry and embark on a tempestuous journey through the world of social graces and mis-guided morals, leading to fame and fortune.

Our Review:

25 September 2006

Brilliant artists are not necessarily, of course, “nice” people. TS Eliot has been accused of anti-semitism, he was almost certainly a snob and might have been mean. But was he unsympathetic to his first wife’s mental illness? Did he fail to give her credit for her contribution to The Waste Land or to his magazine the Criterion?

Michael Hastings raises these questions – more clearly in his introduction to his playtext than in the play itself – but, in dramatic terms, the main interest resides in the behaviour of Vivienne Haigh-Wood, the upper-class woman Eliot married after a few months’ acquaintance during the First World War. Eliot may be the reason for writing the play, but Viv is its star.

Lindsay Posner’s production moves the action along - the scenes are often as short as for television - by the astute use of a simple set with swiftly moved chairs and tables and excellent lighting by Neil Austin. Will Keen, who can act to his nerve ends, is ...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

193.35.133.151) - 18 October 2006:

The first half is slowly paced and clumsily staged, but things look up in the second half when the play gets a lot meatier and the production a lot more fluid. The play doesn't have the impact it had at its first outing at the Royal Court zonks ago and the main reason for seeing this revival is the impeccable acting by an excellent ensemble without a weak link. It's great to see Benjamin Whitrow again, on this occasion giving us three for the price of one !...

Read more and add your own review

Related Whatsonstage.com Articles

Review Round-up: Tom & Viv's Intense Double Act More»