Atonement
Adapted by Christopher Hampton from Ian McEwan’s novel
Directed by Adam Penford
Chichester Festival Theatre
Star rating: 3
It’s a sparky and original tale about deceit, guilt, imagination and story telling over six decades – complete with country house and stylish frocks. No wonder Ian McEwen’s 2001 novel won several awards and Joe Wright’s star-studded 2007 film – with screenplay by Christopher Hampton – did pretty well too.
Now Hampton has had another bite at it by adapting it for stage. And that has come with problems because it’s a narrative full of time shifts and in theatre, even with dates clearly projected, this feels bitty. At times, moreover, one senses that director Adam Penford is looking for imaginative things to do with Chichester Festival Theatre’s big stage when many of the scenes are small scale – despite the largish cast of fourteen.
Thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis (Isabella Dempster) has a bent for writing stories. When, in 1935, she sees her older sister Cecilia (Miriam Petche) in flagrante with Robbie Turner (Jasper Tabot) she mistakes it for an attack and later gives evidence against him in a rape case. After five years in prison he is recruited as a private to the army. Cecilia and he are still in love. The 1999 epilogue presents Briony (Jessica Turner), a successful novelist, revealing the truth and laying bare her lifelong search for atonement.
Dempster excels as the young Briony, first as an innocently knowing thirteen-year old and then – without the white socks and colt-like body language – as an old-for-her years, troubled eighteen year old nurse. Petche is strong as Cecilia, initially young, happy and in love and later loving, resigned and angry. And Talbot’s is a delightful performance as a wronged man who never loses his dignity or charisma.
In support of this is a large cast of competent multi-rolers. A word of praise too for Jessica Turner who stepped into the role of the older Briony at the last minute (after the programmes were printed) in place of Sian Phillips who withdrew with “heartfelt regret”.
Anthony Ward’s designs work quite well with a spiral staircase suggesting access to more intimate things than the formal dining room or the garden. Cecilia’s wartime billet in Battersea is convincing too. Meanwhile Andrzej Goulding’s video projection evokes various settings including the retreat to Dunkirk – scenes which are in some ways the most powerful in the play as the men banter in terror and accept help from two Frenchmen.
There’s much in this show to admire and enjoy but ultimately it feels oddly one-dimensional and some of the dialogue is laboured.
