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The Price - Liverpool Playhouse
9/10
The first in-house production for 2009 at Liverpool Playhouse is "The Price" by Arthur Miller. It is not one of his best-known plays but it is certainly very appropriate for today's audience dealing as it does with contemporary and timeless themes.
The constant theme of 'What is the Truth?' and the different versions of it,told by each character,is a very powerful reminder of our present international dilemma...the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan... our global economic crisis and its subsequent
long-term damage.The situation in the play echoes the psychological effect of these things on the lives of the helpless individuals who stand to suffer the most.
The play is set in 1968 in New York City.It is sixteen years since the two brothers, Victor (Robin Kingsland) and Walter (David Beames) have spoken to each other.
The use of American accents is essential to the realism of the setting and adds power to the script and is impressively accomplished by all the characters throughout.
Dawn Allsopp's set is a very impressive collection of antique furniture, including a collection of mahogany wardrobes, that convey a real atmosphere of the inter-war United States.
Act One opens with Victor arriving and strolling around the attic room in which the material remains of his deceased parents are stored. Victor is nearly fifty and has been in the Police Force for twenty-eight years. His older brother Walter, who will arrive later, is a successful surgeon.
Victor is moved by the objects around him and strong memories visibly stir him into action from time to time. When his wife, Esther (Elaine Claxton) arrives, his whole mood changes. Esther, an attractively smart lady in a sensible new suit, makes it obvious that she does not have any sentimental thoughts attached to the old stuff in the attic. She is just anxious that Victor gets a good price from the dealer who is expected at any moment.She nags at Victor to be strong and to bargain well with the dealer. She is keen to make the memories into hard cash!
When Gregory Solomon (Jon Rumney) the dealer finally arrives, we discover that he is nearly ninety years old and more than a match for Victor. He has seen it all before and maybe because of this, he proves to be the most honest of all the characters. He has nothing to prove.
Gregory is also responsible for most of the comic humour in the play. A very likeable character indeed! You will find that you want to sit down with him and let him tell you the story of his life. The few glimpses we are given as the audience only serve to increase our appetite...we want more!
The two brothers have alternative and conflicting memories of their past. Each of them believe that the other made conscious choices while they had no choice in decisions made.This is why they have been estranged for so long. Walter is not short of money as a surgeon but his selfish pursuit of ambition and power-lust has destroyed his marriage and led to a mental breakdown. He is back on top now and is anxious to make amends.
Each believes that he has paid a far greater price than his brother!
Walter wants them to be reconciled, to bury their differences and to somehow overlook everything that has conspired against them in the past. Victor, however, is in deep denial. His past is intricately linked with his identity and he cannot let it go!
So, the 'price' of the title is primarily about how much the dealer will pay for the roomful of furniture and personal effects and what this means to each of the two brothers. Beyond the obvious, of course, it is clear that it is also the 'price' we all have to pay for our ambitions and personal or selfish desires throughout the course of our lives. It is the importance of wealth versus personal integrity.
Leaving the theatre one could not help thinking that some of us are lucky not to have to look back at the past and to have to count the cost involved!
 and Robin Kingsland (Victor).jpg)
 and Robin Kingsland (Victor).jpg)
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