A Woman Killed with Kindness at the National Theatre

Just come home from seeing 'A Woman Killed with Kindness' by Thomas Heywood, directed by Katie Mitchell, and it was fantastic!

The play received 4 stars from various media, including the Times and Independent, but mere 2 stars from Time Out London.. And although until now I have throughly relied upon the review by the magazine, this has made me reconsider whether it is alright for me to keep on putting my utter faith into their critic's taste in things.. hmm.

I totally agree that the reinvented plot with a feminist touch somewhat seems ridiculous at parts, such as where Sir Charles (delivered by Leo Bill - I knew it was him! It's funny that the role he had in 'School for Scandal' where I first saw him was also called Charles..) all of a sudden turns into an ungrateful monster trying to pimp her his sister out, or where the adulterous Mistress Frankford, after being exposed, sudden starts weeping and blurting out a lengthy moaning in an overly repentant and woeful manner (at which I couldn't help but whisper to my friend next to me, 'How does she even dare to speak so boldly when it's all her fault?'), all of which made it impossible for anyone to sympathise with the characters. It was all very confusing as to whether I was supposed to feel sorry (as such was obviously the case for Susan) or be disgusted by her conduct. Hey, can someone tell me whether the ending was supposed to be sad or comical?

However, although the reinvention of the originally misogynistic tale had a few holes in its plot, the set was... Oh, the sets! They were beautiful! And the the lighting, my goodness, was divine!

The time of the day within the play changed from dawn to morn, from midday to twilight, and from midnight to the dawn again at the switch of a light, superbly designed.. The sets were very well-made (looked very expensive to me), like model houses. The way the stage was divided in half to show both houses was delightful- Actually, all the way throughout the play, before the union of the two household at the end in one long corridor, I thought the two were set in slightly different eras because the costumes, the furnitures and the style&atmosphere of the houses were quite different.. Was this done on purpose or was I just mistaken?

Anyway, for me the highlight was the set for the Mountford mansion with its grand piano, candles, pastel-hued walls, stately wooden staircase, and the morning light coming in through the windows onto Susan's trembling frame. It was absolutely beautiful. I think that's where the critics' opinions divided - whether to compliment the superb design or to criticise the flawed plot. And on this instance, I side with the former.