Writer: Abi Morgan
Director: Vicky Featherstone
Length: 130 minutes
21st October - 12th November.
Based on the real-life study of 700 nuns's lives and how their self-contained lifestyles impacted their health & well-being, "27" explores the lives of a group of nuns who are asked to take part in an Alzheimer's disease study by the dedicated Dr Richard Garfield (Nicholas Le Prevost). The nuns, headed by the lively, headstrong Sister Ursula (Maureen Beattie) and Mother Superior, Sister Miriam (Colette O'Neill), soon find their simple lives disrupted by the conflict between faith and science, as well as their personal entanglements with the visiting scientists and the threats of their own minds betraying them.
2011 is a good year to be Abi Morgan. Following her critical and commercial smash BBC drama "The Hour", with two highly anticipated movies, "the Iron Lady" and "Shame" on the horizon, Morgan's latest addition to the stage attempts to explore the tensions between belief and science, the decline of the human mind and the increasing demise of the traditional convents. From the heart-warming comedies of the "Sister Act" movies to the psychological melodrama of "Black Narcissus", the lives of nuns have been fertile ground for dramatic entertainment and Morgan's own addition to the field has some interesting ideas but ultimately feels incomplete.
If I have come to any conclusions regarding the Lyceum's season so far, it is that the theatre should be extremely proud of the acting talent that has been on show since the summer's beginning. While the plays have varied in quality, the actors have always been top notch and "27" is no exception. Maureen Beattie stands out in particular amongst a strong ensemble, imbuing Sister Ursula with such warmth that it makes her continuing conflicts all themore heartbreaking to watch. Colette O'Neill's turn as the once brilliant Sister Miriam, slowly losing herself to the disease, is another brilliant display of talent. In fact, the strongest scenes of the play are between Beattie and O'Neill as their mother-daughter style relationship slowly changes into one of increasing dependence. Unfortunately, Morgan's writing is not as consistently vivid and challenging as these scenes show it could have been.
Morgan's writing has moments of real poignancy and humour, capturing a dying lifestyle already in the midst of modernisation, but the overall lack of focus means these moments are few and far between. The more intellectually driven moments, such as Richard's monologues regarding his studies, feel like experts from a research paper shoe-horned in for exposition's sake. While it's reasonable to argue that the play's ambiguous nature is perfect for a play on such a topic, it doesn't entirely justify Morgan's almost flaky nature regarding her juggling of multiple themes and ideas, all of which are thought provoking but few are ever given the appropriate time to develop into something truly powerful. It's a long play that often feels longer due to this indecisiveness. A strong, merciless editor could have worked wonders with this piece.
The simple staging feels appropriate to the production, although I do question Featherstone's set design choices - the convent is described on more than one occasion as being old and in need of repairs, yet is represented by an extremely slick and modern staging, paired with 70s style furniture that feels more natural to the piece. Aesthetically, the staging is striking, but feels unsuited to the story.
"27" is often a mess but one with much to recommend. Beattie's performance in particular may be worth the ticket price alone, but the inconsistency of the book may frustrate many. The passion is evident but the reason is somewhat lacking. Morgan is an obvious talent but one who may need some help in reining in her ideas.
2.5/5.
