Through the 1970s and 80s and much of the 1990 Terence Rattigan was rather out of favour. However, since the Almeida production of The Deep Blue Sea in 1993 he has gradually come back to the forefront of British theatre where he rightly belongs. A couple of years ago, to mark Rattigan’s centenary, Flare Path was revived in the West End finally re-establishing him once and for all.
Rattigan plays are of another time. A time of trilby hats, nylon stockings and clandestine affairs where integrity was all, but the human spirit was weak. The themes of betrayal and doomed love affairs were explored in Separate Tables and The Deep Blue Sea but now Less Than Kind, a “new” Rattigan play, written in 1944, explores another fly in the ointment of infidelity.
The romantic comedy Less Than Kind is “new” in as much as it was lost until very recently, its first production taking place in 2011. It tells the story of wealthy politician and industrialist, Sir John Fletcher, who is planning to give it all up, divorce his unfaithful wife and marry his beautiful mistress, Olivia. The fly appears in the form of Olivia’s seventeen-year-old son, recently returned from war-time evacuation. Michael is a priggish, angry young man who cares little for right-wing politicians or rich industrialist and certainly doesn’t fancy one as a step-father. It puts poor Olivia in a tricky position; one in which she has to choose between the man she loves and her moody, only son. There are strong echoes of Hamlet here and no less drama. And not by accident – the title comes from a quote from the Prince of Denmark – “A little more than kin, and less than kind”
William Gamanara is first-rate and totally convincing as the suave industrialist cabinet minister and rather than playing him as a ruthless, I’m-all-right-Jack capitalist, it is with his silky-smooth political side that he confronts and eventually controls the situation. Although the sparks begin to fly as soon as the boy and politician meet, Sir John is a pragmatist declaring “We’re all progressive now”, hedging his bets – the winds of change were certainly beginning to blow in 1944 and it was wise to wrap up warm. Sue Holderness as Olivia, Sir John’s lover, is attractive and sophisticated and you could certainly see why he fell for her. Olivia’s anguish is easy to understand but her resolution of the problem is not entirely believable, although Charlie Hamblett as her sultry, self-righteous son clearly expects to get his own way.
The context and presentation of period plays like this is important and I was pleased to see there was no tinkering or trying to be clever. The play was performed in two, good old-fashioned box-sets that evoked not only the spirit of the age but also demonstrated that nobody is immune from life’s little dramas.
While Less Than Kind is possibly not as strong as the best four or five Rattigan plays, it is certainly good enough to take its place alongside them. Recommended. Michael Hasted
