The Portrait of A Lady

Synopsis

Set in London, Rome and Florence, it tells the story of Isabel Archer, a beautiful, young American heiress, who travels to Europe on a voyage of self-discovery. She is accompanied by the delightful Madam Merle who seems to have many friends, but no past. Having turned down an English Lord and wealthy American industrialist, Isabel marries Gilbert Osmond, a man of exquisite taste and sensibility, who claims to care nothing for worldly possessions. However, as Gilbert and Madam Merle reveal their true characters, Isabel has to confront her future alone...

Our Review:

24 July 2008

Like the best of English gardens – and where better to find them than in the west country – Peter Hall’s Bath residency always offers a delicious display of contrasting seasonal blooms. Hardy perennials residing happily beside latest arrivals. Already we’ve had a quick burst of vintage Peter Nicholls and Ibsen; Alison Steadman in Alan Bennett is still to come and before that home grown Faeries at the bottom of the garden engineered by puppeteers Blind Summit, playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Will Tuckett and ROH(Royal Opera House)2.

Right in the middle sits The Portrait of a Lady. Hailed as a companion piece to A Dolls House running alongside it and adapted by Nicki Frei from the Henry James novel, the only thing the two plays superficially seem to have in common (apart from the same actress in the leading role) is a central focus: a young woman’s journey to self-awareness. Their denouements, for example, are in stark c...

Read more of the review

Latest User Review

No reviews yet

Click here to add your review