Review of ‘The Women of Llanrumney’: “A slave of its own intentions”

The Theatre Royal Stratford East hosts the London transfer of the 2023 period play, portraying one of the most controversial episodes of British history.  Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know of its slave-themed narrative manages to subjugate its audience.

“You know, I really don’t remember you being this opinionated.”. The ominous tone in Gal Gadot’s voice playing the Evil Queen in Disney’s latest train-wreck seems to resonate throughout this piece for some reason. Certainly, there’s a better understanding of narrative in this one that in the already infamous film remake. But its sense of truthfulness appears to have evaporated from its very start – to a point where the historical accuracy of its writing gets extremely suspicious.

This is not a new work. It’s been done before. First performed the Sherman Theatre, now comes the time for The Women of Llanrumey to tell the story on the boards of London’s Stratford East. The premise has everything to appeal to an audience: it’s a poignant subject exploring an episode in Britain’s legacy that’s everything but exempt from controversy. Suffice to say that a period plot dealing with slavery would set our expectations high. Wistfully, only for them to fall down rather dramatically (no pun intended).

A noblewoman in distress, trying to find some financial rescue in order to preserve her estate in the Caribbean colonies. Her loyal slave (not that she has much of a choice), whom she’s been with all through this time, has brought her daughter along to accompany in her duties – still hoping that, someday, the lady of the house will grant her freedom. All the characters’ motivations are perfectly established. And the possibilities for a gripping, thought-provoking tale are impossible not to grasp. But for some unexplainable reason, that’s precisely the case.

Poorly structured and suffering from a severe lack of rhythm, the script struggles to move forward with compelling pacing. Featuring excessive expository elements, the recount looks constantly stagnated – to the extent that, by the moment the curtain goes down during the first half, we can’t help but feel as if we’ve really gone nowhere. The situation improves slightly during Act Two, but its conclusion is so rushed and underdeveloped that all chance for that final stir are entirely missed.

Yet, the biggest issue arises from the disingenuity of its writing. Its exceedingly modern speech is not necessarily a problem – as it can be an effective artistic choice if made for the right purpose. But it’s the personages’ mindsets that, at some bits, sound overly contemporary. And though those could be valid at the final stage of their journey, their credibility is completely lost by a total absence of a character arc.

We can still find redemption in the casts’ performances – which, though none of them flaunting enough chemistry, are still able to regale us with some of entertaining and occasionally galvanizing excerpts. The highest praise goes, on the one hand, to Nia Roberts in the role of Elizabeth – delivering a much inviting and amusing portrayal of the histrionic, self-centered aristocrat. In addition, Matthew Gravelle boasts prowess in his triple-role rendition – transforming from one persona to another with exceptional command.

Bringing up a topic of extraordinary relevance, but not displaying too many hints of toil and sweat in its execution, The Women of Llanrumney manages to trigger our interest about what actually occurred during the colonial era – but unfortunately, it is incapable of satisfying it through its own methods.

With a chained story line that remains still for most of the part, and taking some questionable liberties, the show ends up manacling itself – building a rather uninspired account that fails to bond with the viewer and serve any goal properly. Its essence carries meaning, but its shape is not ready to capture it yet – for its true potential is yet to be released.

All pictures credit to Chuko Cribb.

The Women of Llanrumney plays at London’s Theatre Royal Stratford East until 12 April. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara