The Thunderbolt

Synopsis

The eldest Mortimore, a brewer, has died. His estranged siblings gather to divide the spoils. But there is no will and an illegitimate daughter. Guilt, envy and greed jostle for prominence as a large middle class family fight, with whatever weapons are at their disposal, for what they feel is their rightful and much needed inheritance. In this 1908 play Pinero moves away from the London society of his earlier successes, like The Second Mrs Tanqueray, to the small town politics, tensions and sensitivities of a provincial town.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 13 September 2010

A dead man’s will goes missing and his illegitimate daughter turns up to spoil the family’s eager division of an estate worth £200,000, or £15m in today’s currency.

Pinero’s 1908 potboiler is a fascinating retrieval by director Sam Walters in a venue that has invaluably picked up the slack in the Victorian and Edwardian repertoire elsewhere: The Thunderbolt is poised between Granville Barker and Priestley as a functional social comedy.

Three brothers, their sister and her blimpish husband in a small Midlands city all need a financial boost -- especially the impoverished musician, Thaddeus Mortimore (Stuart Fox) and his wife Phyllis (Natalie Ogle); as a result, a serious felony has been committed.

Helping to resolve the situation are two lawyers (Vincent Brimble and David Antrobus), as well as the surprise beneficiary herself, whom [Gráinne Keenan] plays with a cool and touching impartiality.

The br...

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