Broken Glass

RoughCast Theatre at the Fisher Theatre, Bungay

Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 1 December 2007

Broken Glass

A relatively modern play from the Arthur Miller catalogue, this challenging piece about love and Jewishness is set in 1930s New York as the persecution of European Jews begins.

The challenge of entering a tight, claustrophobic world is embraced warmly by the continuously maturing RoughCast Theatre.

Director David Green exploits the Miller device of unfolding global affairs punctuating an unravelling relationship.

The central protagonists are a middle aged Jewish couple. Sylvia (an impeccable performance from Yves Green) is suffering a physiological paralysis brought on by fear of Jewish persecution.

Her husband (Paul Baker) is at sea in relationships and uncomfortable about love. He is extremely effective.

The devious doctor who lasts after the wife (Mark Burridge) shows conflict with his professional ethics quite well and Gill Rennie is his long-suffering wife.

Her sister (Anne McClarnon) adds a commentary on the marriage that is comic and perceptive.

His relationship with his boss (Pat Quorn) deteriorates as his whole world crashes.

How an unhappy, unfulfilled woman perceives the world outside and the one in which she is trapped, is a subtle and moving study. RoughCast do it justice, catching the humour while exposing some raw edges.