Accolade

Sins Sear

Accolade

by Emlyn Williams

Bill Kenwright Productions at Richmond Theatre, until 13^th July

Review by Eleanor Lewis

A ‘beam me up Scotty’ moment isn’t quite what you expect to see opening Emlyn Williams’ 1950 play Accolade, but it does focus the attention and almost creates the idea of time moving on, or not.

Writer Will Trenting (Ayden Callaghan) lives comfortably in London with his wife Rona (Honeysuckle Weeks).  As the wireless rings in the new year of 1950, he tells Rona he has been offered a knighthood.  General jubilation and celebrations ensue, but this is not going to be as straightforward as might be hoped.  Trenting has a predilection for orgies which he enjoys as and when he wants to, and with the knowledge and consent of Rona who has been aware of his habits from the day she met him.  She finds him exciting without sharing that particular passion. 

As time passes it becomes apparent that Trenting at his last ‘party’ had sex with a girl who, unbeknownst to him, was in fact fourteen years old despite being dressed in furs and make up, and this information is about to hit the press. 

Despite supportive and sophisticated family and friends – Rona is witty, cheerful and realistic – Trenting resorts to what are partly logical rants about the hypocrisy and intolerance society directs at consenting acts carried out in private, and part childish tantrum of the cake and eat it-type.  It is left to his publisher Thane (David Phelan) to offer the rather desperate argument that many of history’s literary greats wouldn’t have become great writers unless they’d lived life to the full, even if that had involved some law breaking.

At the time Accolade was written homosexuality was illegal and wasn’t to become legal until seventeen years later.  Williams himself was bisexual and it’s clear that though Trenting’s crime involves a female, Williams was presenting the case for the tolerance of homosexuality.  (Though it is unnerving to reflect that whilst the play itself was strong stuff at the time the idea of sex with an underage girl could still, in 1950, just about be mentioned but homosexual acts between consenting adults couldn’t).

Things move along briskly until about a third of the way through when Trenting, on the morning he’s due to go to the Palace, has a lengthy encounter with a blackmailer.  After this the pace drifts a little when it should be ramping up.  Aside from Trenting’s odd morning- dress which was somewhat distracting, Ayden Callaghan struggled to move much beyond very angry child in his reaction to the disapprobation about to be heaped upon him and, rather than a gradual character journey taking place, Callaghan’s Trenting remained static.  There is no doubt that Trenting is an entirely selfish man, but he is also worldly and intelligent, and he would develop.  Only towards the end though, as the inevitable exile loomed and things had to be accepted, was there a slightly jerky move forward into some maturity with the realisation that Trenting’s son Ian (Louis Holland’s nicely judged rendition of a full of beans teenage boy about to be stopped in his tracks) would be taking a lot of flak for his father’s actions.

The production is blessed with an extremely good supporting cast.  Honeysuckle Weeks’ Rona is a strong, sophisticated and multifaceted character of a woman way ahead of her time, trapped in the box society required her to exist in, but still making more than the best of it.  She draws sympathy without appearing to try, she makes you want to be her friend.  Similarly Jamie Hogarth, as Trenting’s assistant Albert, gives dimension and warmth to what was possibly written as something of a stock character with a tiny backstory.  And the pairing of Gavin Fowler and Sarah Twomey as the definitely lower class and perfectly happy about it ‘participants’ at the orgies is both entertaining and slightly frightening, in a good way!

All of this takes place against Julie Godfrey’s beautiful, atmospheric set with book lined walls, leather sofa and strange but endearing cupboard with tile-surrounded basin for shaving.  An old clock ticks loudly sometimes as time moves on (David Gregory’s sound design) and occasional, subtle strands of music nudge the tension up when required.

Bill Kenwright’s Accolade is moody and interesting, it raises questions we have not yet really answered and is well worth a look.

Eleanor Lewis, July 2024

Photography by Jack Merriman