Theatre review: Bird Grove

Alexi Kaye Campbell throws a little dig at himself in Bird Grove, as a male writer telling the story of how women's voices needed to be heard, and how one woman made sure hers was one of them. She did do it under the male pseudonym of George Elliot, but in 1841 she's still Mary Ann Evans (Elizabeth Dulau,) a woman whose family is starting to worry might be getting too old to attract a husband. Her father Robert (Owen Teale) has recently retired after a lifetime of hard work which has, however, left him financially very comfortable: He's bought Bird Grove House in Coventry for him and his daughter to live in; the idea is that they'll settle into a new area as a respectable family who'll attract eligible young men to propose to Mary Ann. This isn't getting off to the best start though, as her brother Isaac (Jolyon Coy) has brought along a very bad match in Horace (Jonnie Broadbent.)

So the play begins as a Victorian comedy of manners as the stuffy Horace, who's wildly overestimated how much Mary Ann might return his interest in her, is thrown and offended by her actually wanting a say in her own life, and marrying him so he can get an inheritance is not part of the plan. Horace also has diarrhoea.

But Mary Ann's newfound outspokenness, encouraged by her radical new friends Cara (Rebecca Scroggs) and Charles Bray (Tom Espiner,) will have much bigger repercussions than just embarrassing a local fool, and a few days later she announces to her father that she won't be going to church with him as it no longer aligns with what she believes. We've already seen Robert be the family member who has a bit more understanding of who Mary Ann is and how she might be happy, but this is a step too far for him.

So this becomes more of a drama with the central conflict between father and daughter variously trying to find a compromise that balances their love for each other with their own principles, and playing a game of one-upmanship that sees Robert use his will to get the last word even after death. With a lot of modern language and ideas - Robert talks about finding the right way to love his daughter, Mary Ann wants to find her own truth - Campbell may be suggesting that George Elliot was a crucial moment in developing the way we think about identity and individuality today.

The shift in styles is both a help and a hindrance to the play: It can all feel a bit unfocused, but it does also make it unpredictable, with the final scene causing a few audience gasps. Anna Ledwich's production for the most part makes the most of this, adding tension to what at first feels like quite a creaky throwback style. Sarah Beaton's set design also looks rather grand and stark to start with, but lends itself to a dramatic snowstorm later on, as well as Mary Ann's angry rejection of the endless books on the shelves, all written by a small circle of men.

Dulau gives a contained, emotionally effective performance as Mary Ann finds her voice, but there's a quieter character development going on at her side as her friend and former teacher Maria (Sarah Woodward) learns how to properly support her unusual friend's needs, not just try to fit her into society's expectations like she does at the start. For all its bells and whistles Bird Grove still feels old-fashioned at heart and definitely could be shorter, but it's got enough twists and turns to keep it an interesting evening.

Bird Grove by Alexi Kaye Campbell is booking until the 21st of March at Hampstead Theatre.

Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes including interval.

Photo credit: Johan Persson.