Moar is burning her brand into the world of theatre
I went in thinking Katherine Moar’s Ragdoll was a telling of the famous 1970s’ kidnap of Patty Hearst and her indoctrination into the Symbionese Liberation Army by her kidnappers that led to her robbing banks to fund their activist activities, writes Michael Holland.
I wish it had been because that is a great tale to tell. Ragdoll, however, appears to be an exercise in how to depict exactly what happened to Hearst, whose father was the Murdoch of his day, without mentioning her name, her father’s name or her lairy lawyer’s name, and dropping in everyone who was mad or bad in late 60s – early 70s America instead.
Ragdoll is told through Holly (Abigail Cruttenden & Katie Matsell) and Robert, her Lawyer (Nathaniel Parker & Ben Lamb), at two ages of their lives: Holly when she is in jail and on trial for armed robbery charges, and middle-aged when she is still holding on to her hatred for the famous, high-cost lawyer who turned up with a hangover on the final day of trial for the closing speeches to the jury.
Robert, on the other hand, has had a charmed career enhanced by winning several A-List celebrity cases but now faces a potential #metoo scandal that could ruin his reputation. He wants Holly to stand up for him, 40 years after he failed to keep her out of prison. A big ask for someone who refused to answer her calls in her hours of need.
The flashbacks show us the young hotshot lawyer on a winning streak and the spoilt child not realising how much trouble she is in because she has grown up seeing how money can buy anything. The later scenes portray them as a bitter woman still feeling like the victim and a man about to lose everything he has built, an empire spotlit in a fifty grand settee that becomes a metaphor for his greed, his celebrity and having too much money.
This is only Moar’s second play and after the runaway success of her first, Farm Hall, she is burning her brand into the world of theatre with sharp dialogue and interesting takes on modern history.
Josh Seymour’s direction ensures Ragdoll never gets dull and the performances tight with the protagonists never far away from their other selves, the connection between young and old ever-present.
I had gone along with good friend Kim, who herself spent many years behind bars for armed robbery in the 80s when everyone wanted to be part of the Boom and Bust world that London was back then.
She enjoyed it far more than me, praising the way the scenes swapped between the years enabling us to see how the younger characters formed the people they became.
I enjoyed the symbolism and how the metaphor gets it in the end.
Jermyn Street Theatre, 16B Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6ST until 15th November.
Booking and full details: www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
