REVIEW: The Silver Cord by Sidney Howard at Finborough Theatre 3 - 28 September

'magnificent mothering melodrama' ★★★★

What is more fierce, determined, or passionate than a mother’s love? This is the question at the heart of Sidney Howard’s The Silver Cord. Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre and directed by Joe Harmston in the first London production since 1927, this powerful ensemble piece has a terrific cast and unforgettable characters who will stay with you long after the long play is over. At 2 hours and 20 with an interval, the length reflects its age but there's enough going on to hold an audience's attention and the interval is perfectly timed at an explosive juncture. 

At the centre of the story is Mrs Phelps, a well to do widow in 1926, Boston, Massachusetts. On the surface, this exemplar of motherhood is full of Victorian virtues of self-sacrifice and forbearance. She loves her two boys more than life itself except they are now men and plan to make their own lives. But rather than wishing them on their way and retiring to a rocking chair with some knitting, Mrs Phelps seeks to alter the course of events. More than anything, she wishes to keep her boys close.

Robert, the younger son played with aching vulnerability by Dario Coates is engaged to Hester who is recovering from a breakdown, (a twitchy and highly strung Jemma Carlton) David, the elder son (solid and strapping George Watkins) is visiting for the first time in two years, with his new wife, Christina, a sharp and incisive, female scientist played by Alix Dunmore. There is evidence of sibling rivalry but this is a minor conflict in comparison to the idea that Mrs. Phelps might be usurped in her son’s affections by either of these two young women. A Freudian fairground of dramatic possibility, Sidney Howard gives audiences a delightfully emotional ride on the bumper cars, waltzers and ghost train.

In a riveting performance by Sophie Ward, Mrs Phelps, a cross between Nurse Ratchet and Lady Macbeth has an unwavering goal, and her agenda becomes increasingly transparent. Shifting in emotional prisms from maternal to manipulative and menacing, you’ve never heard anyone use the affection, ‘dear’ in a more sinister way. Mrs. Phelps will stop at nothing to hold on to her boys and as the play unfolds, her attachment becomes more disturbing. Images of black widow spiders and sticky webs come to mind, her sons trapped like flies. But as objectionable as Mrs. Phelps is, audiences will still be able to understand and sympathise with her, perhaps even feel sorry for her. Such is the mastery of Howard’s writing.

Sidney Howard was one of the most important stage dramatists in the early 20^th century. He was nominated for numerous Academy Awards and won the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for drama. One of the first Broadway writers to make the leap to screenwriting, he was tasked with adapting Gone with the Wind for the screen. So, how wonderful to have this chance to hear his work. The Finborough Theatre continues to delight audiences with such glorious rediscoveries in their dramatic attic. And this jewel of a play is no exception.

The Silver Cord

Sidney Howard

Finborough Theatre

3 September - 28 September 2024

The Silver Cord – Finborough Theatre

Director
Joe Harmston

Casting Director
Declan Walker

Set Designer
Alex Marker

Lighting Designer
Mike Robertson

Costume Designer
Carla Joy Evans

Sound Designer
Amanda Priestley

Producer
Andrew Maunder

Cast

Jemma Carlton
Dario Coates
Alix Dunmore
Sophie Ward
George Watkins