Susan Glaspell’s Alison’s House is set in Iowa on New Years’ Eve, 1899. The family are in the process of packing up the house and everything is in a state of chaos… except for Alison’s room. Alison, a famous poet, passed away 18 years ago and her room has been kept intact. A reporter is here asking if he can see Alisons’ room and wants to know if there are any unreleased works by Alison. The question is raised a few times and denied fervently, so we know they exist and we know they must be juicy. So begins this Pulitzer Prize winning play.
This is a tricky play, it is wordy and it relies on a sustained tension for just over two hours. Director Julie Baz manages to keep us interested but only just. There is a lot of talking and it is mostly about Alison, her legacy and a continual suggestion of her secret. Mr Stanhope (David Jeffrey) is overseeing the move with his trusty secretary (Tasha O’Brien) – or rather, his trusty secretary is overseeing the move while Mr Stanhope hovers nearby. Apart from the apparently star struck reporter (Richard Knowles), we have Stanhope’s perpetually angry step daughter (Veronica Clavijo), a crazy sister (Sarah Plummer), a foppish son (James Martin), a serious son (Brendan Lorenzo), the black sheep daughter, Elsa (Nyssa Hamilton), the maid (Penny Day) and some crazy home buyers (Matthew Bartlett, Dominique De Marco). All the ingredients for a great story. There are themes here about family reputation, female empowerment and celebrity privacy but none seem to stand out. In act one, Baz uses continual movement and a physical pace to keep the 
audience’s attention from waning which does work, although a little more attention to what is being done would help. At times the blocking became too ‘busy’ or characters wandered unnecessarily. In Act two things settled into a more careful pace as the action moves from the library to Alison’s bedroom.
The other tricky issue with this play is maintaining the sense of scandal that the family fears. When all is revealed it really does not compare to modern day scandals. So it is extremely difficult to communicate the humiliation the family faces. The Company does well with this.
Overall performances were good although some pushed their characters too far. The standout for me was Nyassa Hamilton (Elsa). She gave a very measured performance, her sage words balanced with a slight eccentricity. Good performances also came from Brendan Lorenzo, Elliot Falzom, Matthew Bartlett and Tasha O’Brien.
David Jeffrey‘s set was beautifully designed and executed. The isolated, exposed wall frame holding fireplace and murals were effective. When combined with Mehran Mortezaei‘s excellent lighting design the shadows of Alison’s metaphoric prison add a lovely touch.
Overall this is a very difficult play to stage and Depot Theatre have gone a long way to make this work.
Lynden Jones – Theatre Now
Alison’s House
Susan Glaspell
4 – 21 April 2018
8pm Wed, Thurs, Fri, 2pm & 8pm Sat
Venue: Depost Theatre
Theatre Company: Depot Thearte
Duration: N/A
