Bird Grove Review: A Tender Drama Exploring George Eliot's Formative Years
Elizabeth Dulau delivers a terrific performance in Alexi Kaye Campbell's new play, Bird Grove, at the Hampstead Theatre in London. The production focuses on the early life of Mary Ann Evans, who would later become the celebrated novelist George Eliot, during her twenties in 1840s Coventry.
The Story of a Future Literary Pioneer
Set in the family home of Bird Grove, the play depicts Evans living with her father, Robert, played by Owen Teale. She is not yet the formidably unconventional woman she would evolve into, but the seeds of her future life are clearly sown. Evans would eventually scandalise genteel society by cohabiting with a man, befriending free-thinkers, and writing some of the most humane works in English fiction.
The central conflict revolves around daughterly dissent and an ideological clash with her father. This comes to a head when Evans announces she will no longer attend church on Sundays due to her departure from conventional biblical interpretations. This leads to her banishment from Bird Grove, although historically, Eliot was never actually thrown out by her father despite his disapproval.
Humour and Drama Intertwined
Anna Ledwich's production skillfully blends humour with serious drama, particularly in the earlier, slower scenes. A comical subplot involves a marriage proposal from the ridiculous Horace Garfield, played by Jonnie Broadbent, who needs to wed to claim his inheritance and views Evans as a marriage of expediency.
Meanwhile, the scandalously free-thinking couple Charles and Cara Bray, portrayed by Tom Espiner and Rebecca Scroggs, along with French mesmerist Monsieur Lafontaine (James Staddon), provide amusing moments. While these minor characters add levity, they primarily serve as facilitators to Mary's ambitions rather than deepening the narrative substantially.
A Hybrid of Ideas and Family Drama
The production occupies a unique space between a play of ideas and a father-daughter drama. Conversations explicitly outline Evans's growing feminist consciousness, with her declaring, "I suppose it's for us to wrestle that pen from the men." Drawing-room discussions on Christianity present opposing arguments with intellectual rigor.
Interspersed among these are searingly emotional family scenes that gain power through tender understatement. The entire cast delivers well-tuned performances that enhance the production's emotional depth.
Artistic Liberties and Historical Accuracy
Campbell takes some artistic liberties with historical facts. While Eliot's father disapproved of her questioning Christian dogma, he never actually banished her from home. The inheritance plotline, which shows Mary receiving little compared to her brothers, was not an act of revenge but rather convention of the time, affecting her sister similarly.
These changes do not fundamentally undermine the story, though they might grate for dedicated Eliot enthusiasts. The inheritance issue feels somewhat underdeveloped, particularly when Mary's brother Isaac, played by Jolyon Coy, openly promises to look after her.
Production Design and Symbolic Elements
The entire play unfolds within the Evans' Georgian household, designed by Sarah Beaton as a pale blue wood-panelled space. Several wall-less rooms—including the parlour, kitchen, and study—revolve with each scene change, mixing drawing-room naturalism with abstract elements.
A particularly moving moment occurs when Dorothea, a fictional character from Eliot's Middlemarch portrayed by Katie Eldred, makes a brief appearance to inspire her creator. This completes the production's unstable sense of reality blended with dream, showing Mary glimpsing her future through Dorothea and seizing it with both hands.
The play develops a delicate emotional power that gradually takes hold, anchored by Dulau's lovely, strong central performance. Bird Grove runs at Hampstead Theatre until 21 March, offering audiences a thoughtful exploration of a literary giant's formative years.
