4 STARS, September 13-16. A quiet tale of friendship and ageing, Driving Miss Daisy at Richmond Theatre becomes something special in the hands of such accomplished actors. Samantha Laurie reviews
Simon Turtle
Alfred Uhry’s play begins in 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia with a wealthy Jewish widow, 72-year-old Daisy Werthan (Dame Sian Phillips) crashing her car into the neighbour’s garage. She is no longer safe to drive, insists her son Boolie (Teddy Kempner) and despite her protestations, he hires an African American chauffeur, Hoke (Derek Griffiths) to ferry her to ‘the piggly-wiggly’ shop and to her other social engagements.
The friendship that develops between the prickly widow and her long-suffering chauffeur is familiar to many of us from the 1989 Oscar-winning film but in the hands of acting heavyweight Dame Sian Phillips (I, Claudius, Cabaret, Marlene) and Derek Griffiths (best known to those of us of a certain age as the presenter of PlayAway) it becomes a deeply moving tale of friendship and ageing.
Initially frosty, their relationship develops subtly as the play follows them over a quarter of a century. Bonded by the shared indignities of ageing, they are tested by the prejudices of the American South. Daisy is at her most imperious when she asks Hoke why he didn't stop to use the toilet (‘to make water’ ) when they stopped for petrol: she knows very well, he retorts, that coloureds are not allowed to use them.
As the social and cultural upheaval of the civil rights movement gains pace, the play becomes darker. Daisy goes alone to listen to Martin Luther King speak, her son having refused to accompany her for fear it may jeopardise his business interests. She cannot bring herself to ask Hoke until it’s too late and his angry response gives us a moving insight into a good man living in an unjust world.
In another poignant scene, Hoke comforts Daisy when her synagogue is bombed by telling her a harrowing story of hate and prejudice from his childhood. She brusquely rejects his attempts to draw parallels between their lives.
But in the end, it’s the process of ageing that brings them together. He loses his sight as she loses her independence. Sian Phillips beautifully evokes the decline into old age, sprightly at first, brisk in her movements and words, then slower and more cautious until only her sharp tongue is still moving. In the final scene in a nursing home, Hoke tenderly spoonfeeds her in a superbly moving portrait of their friendship.
All three actors give powerful performances; Griffiths conveys the quiet dignity and charm of Hoke, delivering along the way some lovely one-liners; Teddy Kempner finds the perfect mix of love and exasperation of a busy son dealing with an ageing – and obstinate – parent.
This a very simply staged show with just a bench depicting the car and some well-chosen music. Dramatically, very little happens: the actors sit either in the living room or the car, and talk. It’s short too – a perfectly-pitched 90 minutes long - and in the hands of such a fine trio of actors, it’s a joy to watch.
- Driving Miss Daisy is at Richmond Theatre until Sept 16. For more information and to book tickets, visit: atgtickets.com
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