The Years Between

Synopsis

1945. Following the tragic loss of her husband in action, MP’s wife Diana Wentworth and her young son determinedly rebuild their life in rural home-counties England. As a single woman, Diana finds unexpected independence; she assumes her husband’s seat in parliament and begins a relationship with a local farmer. As the war draws to an end and peace returns to the country, a shock revelation threatens Diana’s new existence to the core. Autobiographically-inspired, The Years Between is one of only two original plays written by Daphne du Maurier, better known as a novelist and particularly as the author of Rebecca and Jamaica Inn.

Our Review:

9 February 2011

The author Daphne du Maurier only wrote two stage plays. The Years Between, which starts from a semi-autobiographical standpoint of a marriage torn apart by the Second World War, is one of them.

Du Maurier’s novels are atmospheric, elegiac, intelligent – and this play shares many of the same qualities. It’s also thought-provoking, temperate, exquisitely constrained by the morals and standards of the time (the later years of the war), and packing one or two powerful punches in its revelations.

The elegance and formality of the country house backdrop is beautifully evoked, not just in Helen Goddard’s immaculate library set but also in the tight, clipped performances and simmering tensions below a sheen of respectability.

To reveal anything much of the plot would be unfair, but the central premise sees the surprise return home of a soldier believed killed in action, and the consequent unravelling of the lives of those around him, who are possibly more altered by the war...

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