ROCKING THE CRADLE by Des Walsh (RCA Theatre/Tarragon). To December 13. See listing. Rating: NNN
The obsession to have a child leads down the path of madness in Rocking The Cradle, Des Walsh’s adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s Yerma.[rssbreak]
There’s a striking grassroots quality to the production, set in an isolated Newfoundland outport in the 60s, when resettlement had shaken the economic and emotional bedrock of many communities. It’s as if we’re eavesdropping on the characters’ lives, as do the gossipy residents of this village, who make sure they have access to everyone’s business.
Married for two years, Joan (Ruth Lawrence) desperately wants a child, but her husband, Vince (Darryl Avalon Hopkins), is not interested in meeting her desires. She’s drawn to the more willing and appealing Tom (Greg King), but she’s committed to her wedding vows.
Performed by Newfoundland’s RCA Theatre Company, Rocking has some fine moments as it drives toward a tragic conclusion. Standouts include Lawrence, who resolutely tracks Joan’s descent into desperation, and King, who conveys a suggestive sensuality in his scenes with Lawrence. Jane Dingle is also strong as Joan’s worldly-wise and sometimes cynical mother.
Still, the production needs more sense of building pressure, of Joan’s being backed into a corner from which she can’t escape.
I wish director Richard Rose had tightened the work’s emotional screws. The a cappella songs help set mood, but more intensity would give greater resonance to Joan’s plight.
