Honour
Date: 2003
Category: Performances
Cast: Cordelia Howell , Michael O'Sullivan, Emma Pogonoski and Tenille Hogan
Written By Joanna Murray-Smith
Directed by Bob Philippe
‘Honour' was first performed by Playbox Theatre Centre of Monash University, at the The C.U.B. Malthouse, on 14 th November, 1995. Written by Joanna Murray-Smith. ‘Honour' won the 1996 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Drama and has since been widely produced. A provocative drama that challenges our notion of honour, our sense of decency and our belief that love will prevail.
What happens when a comfortable middle-class, middle-aged marriage suddenly stalls? When shared values and responsibilities no longer coalesce? When the opportunity arises for one life to be renewed, but at the expense of another's happiness and security? And how does this impact on the rest of the family? ‘Honour' sweeps us along a path with a sort of inevitability that is gripping. The characters are cleverly drawn as gifted and perceptive people, but like all of us they are vulnerable. Stay tuned as director Bob Philippe again takes the reigns for Valley Artists Inc., to steer us through this contemporary Australian drama.
Joanna Murray-Smith has just seen the second run-through of her play, ‘Honour', at London's Royal National Theatre and is so pleased with the cast's performance that she's wondering how it could possibly be any better on opening night. Murray-Smith 39, noted for her sparse, stylised writing and her ability to get to the emotional heart of her mainly middle-class subjects, finds ‘Honour' strikes a chord with theatre goers everywhere, but feels it "sits well" with the introspective British mentality. This portrayal of a disintegrating middle-aged marriage was selected by Meryl Streep for a New York reading and has been performed on Broadway. The 1998 Broadway run was cut short by a damning review in The New York Times, which Murray-Smith admits was incredibly discouraging. The irony hasn't escaped Murray-Smith that her plays are performed internationally but not as extensively as she would like back home. (From Juliet Herd's article in The Australian).
However, Valley Artists Inc., are about to change that. This dynamic theatre company from the Lower Hunter Valley are taking on the challenge of, the notion of ‘Honour'. Valley Artists Inc. find it most interesting that each time they decide on a production or an adaptation they suddenly find it is being performed at The Opera House by Bell Shakespeare Co. or in the Royal National Theatre in London. They didn't set out to be such trend-setters. They just are! Directed by Bob Philippe (NIDA) and starring Cordelia Howell, Michael O'Sullivan, Emma Pogonoski and Tenille Hogan, this production by Valley Artists Inc. will prove to be a journey of the emotions.
Reviews
I left the theatre feeling a little frustrated, but that was certainly not the fault of director Bob Philippe or the excellent cast of Valley Artists production of Joanna Murray-Smith's Honour. I guess I felt that the plot was a cliche, and that this placed limitations on the play.
Mind you, this was a cliche written about with considerable wit and feminine wisdom, and being a cliche contained enough truth to connect with most people at some level. The audience was totally involved, enthralled, for two hours without an interval - this was excellent theatre.
Cordelia Howell as Honor, the wife of thirty two years jilted by her husband for a younger woman, was totally convincing. This is a role that needs to build, requires considerable restraint, and this Cordelia did to perfection - from satisfied par