The Woman Before

Synopsis

Are you living the life you always wanted? About 24 years ago Frank promised Romy eternal love. And today she has come to claim his promise. Frank is about to emigrate with his wife Claudia and their son Andy when Romy visits and demands the extinction of the past 24 years in exchange for a new life. What will Frank do?

Our Review:

18 May 2005

Roland Schimmelpfenning’s feeble new domestic drama The Woman Before is deadly, in every sense.

Its story of a man whose past comes back to haunt him when an ex-partner of 24 years ago arrives unannounced, and barely remembered by him, at the front door of the home he shares with his wife of 19 years and their teenage son, is initially intriguing. But it proceeds to be ultimately wearying as the woman, Romy, desperately tries to reclaim him. The play fires through 28 scenes, some terse, some tense, in barely 75 minutes, and gradually becomes as annoying as it is meant to be disquieting.

As these scenes, played out over a night and morning, are performed in a scrambled sequence that jumps rapidly between different time frames, sometimes of barely moments, sometimes of hours, the suspicion dawns that The Woman Before is all form and no content.

Yes, it’s a method of sustaining interest in the storyline of a long-lost l...

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Latest User Review

195.82.123.181) - 4 June 2005:

This quirky, sinister, playful piece, in Richard Wilson's exquisite production, is a strange experience. I loved the way it played around with time, and was genuinely intrigued and gripped by the action and the characters, but came out feeling a bit short-changed for a whole evening out (it runs barely 75 minutes). Also couldn't make my mind up about the acting: with the exception of Nigel Lindsay, everybody seemed to alternate between deliberately stilted and heartfelt realism. Still, it added to the general oddity of the occasion. I am guessing this wouldn't be to everyone's taste, but I would recommend it....

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