Review: Summer and Smoke

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Summer and Smoke.
The Almeida Theatre's intensely atmospheric production of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke transferred to the West End in late 2018, with Patsy Ferran and Matthew Needham reprising their central roles in Rebecca Frecknall's production. Williams’ play is set in Mississippi and centres on a minister’s daughter named Alma, who finds herself entangled in an impassioned and complicated relationship with John Buchanan, an unruly young doctor and her next door neighbour.

At the heart of this production is Patsy Ferran, in the leading role of Alma Winemiller. Ferran gives one of the best theatrical performances that I seen on the stage in quite some time. She has created a phenomenal characterisation and both carefully and cleverly conveys each and every aspect of the character successfully. From the way in which she delivers her lines, to her mannerisms and facial expressions; it was all simply flawless. The inner feelings and thoughts of Alma are also demonstrated in Ferran's expressive eyes. There were so many layers to this performance and I was left well and truly astonished. Ferran's star-making performance is worth the ticket price alone. I simply cannot praise this portrayal enough. Playing opposite Ferran's Alma is Matthew Needham, in the role of John Bucanhan. The character of John is a complex one; throughout the play he continuously demonstrates underlying rage, however John also has his softer moments. Needham excellent portrays all of the different sides to the character and gave an all-round excellent performance. It is particularly interesting to see the way Needham presents the change in John throughout the final scene, where after not seeing Alma for a whole year, he appeared to have mellowed and has largely changed his outlook on life. Both of the leading performances in Summer and Smoke are outstanding, and the chemistry between Ferran and and Needham is electric.

The story of Summer and Smoke is an interesting one and audience members are likely to take away different interpretations. Personally, I found Alma's story and background to be rather saddening and I has quite a lot of sympath for her. As a result of her Mother's nervous breakdown, Alma was forced to take on many responsibilities at a very young age, causing her to become a little eccentric and quirky. She is later mocked and taunted for being this way, which was truly heart-breaking. Additionally, the way Williams presents the relationship between Alma and John left me wondering as to whether this was true love, or if perhaps John was simply doing this to taunt Alma. The ending left this somewhat unclear, leaving the audience to decide for themselves.

Lighting design, created by Lee Curran, is outstanding. The lighting is particularly effective during act two, when after a gunshot is fired, the actors launch in to slow motion and the set is illuminated with an ethereal shade of blue. The set design, crafted by Tom Scott, despite being minimalistic is highly effective. The setting of the Almeida Theatre has been reconstructed masterfully here, and I particularly admired the use of the stripped bare pianos.

Now for my final verdict on Summer and Smoke. I give Summer and Smoke...

This rating is warranted by Patsy Ferran's performance alone. It's an excellent production and I am glad to have had the opportunity to see it before its closure.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer