THE WOMAN BEFORE....
SOHO THEATRE - London....
....
Frank quietly sorts his records, packing them into boxes in preparation
for the family moving abroad. A
knock on the door heralds a disastrous encounter with an ex girlfriend who has
come back to claim her prize of eternal love after 24 years. The Woman Before, written by Roland Schimmelpfennig and directed by Juliane von Sivers
sifts through the expectation of a life lived and the embers of one that never
sparked into being.
Frank and the homely Claudia prepare for the second phase of their life
together. Their son Andi is coming to terms with leaving his girlfriend Tina
behind when they see a tall and glamorous woman approach the house wearing a
raincoat. Tina has a bad feeling watching from a distance as Frank opens the
door to Romy Vogtländer, the woman he swore to love eternally 24 years before. What
does she want after all these years apart?
Claudia is aghast that this stranger can come into her home and claim
the love of her husband and be so sure that it will be returned without question.
Confused and angry she sends Romy away but the questions are bubbling to the
surface as she and Frank have a heated exchange on exactly what Romy meant to
him all those years ago. Then, unexpectedly, Romy is brought back into the
family home by Andi, whose relationship with his girlfriend Tina seems to
mirror the love affair Romy and Frank once had.
As the drama unfolds the deluded Romy ups her game coveting what isn’t
hers to take and uses her sexuality to convince Frank that leaving with her
would be the right thing to do.
But there is a catch. He
must erase the last 19 years of his family life. A refusal to do so is a deadly deal breaker.
The femme fatale character of Romy (played by Natascha Slasten) is a
complex dichotomy of the brave and the vulnerable. To arrive at the door of an
ex lover after 24 years takes courage and raises questions about the pain of a
life that has not brought her everything she had hoped for. There is a deep truthfulness
to Romy and Slasten cleverly plays this facet of the character. We recognise
the familial relationships but who is to say everyone is happy within the
confines of an outwardly secure family structure. She questions loyalty
and the ease of making a promise that can so easily be forgotten over the
years.
Schimmelpfennig’s play is a mixture of the dark and broody world of
obsession and manipulation juxtaposed with the light, comfortable but
ultimately unhappy relationship that Frank and Claudia enjoy. It raises questions about true love,
relationships and what it means to make a promise.
Brilliantly casted, The Woman Before, captures your attention from beginning to its climactic end and poses
the question “Are you living the life you always wanted?”.
Frank
- Philip Allinson....
Claudia
- Anne Bird....
Romy
Vogtländer - Natascha Slasten....
Andi
- Gary Buckley....
Tina - Nichole Bird....
Solidaire Theatre Productions - The Woman Before
Natascha Slasten - Romy Vogtländer