Eleanor follows the personal history of Eleanor Marx, daughter of Karl, who dismissed the family as an invention of the bourgeois. Putting her failed romance at the heart of the story, set against the loving solidity of her friends’ marriage, the production serves as a vindication of the family. With skilful direction and a talented cast, Agnes Perry-Robinson’s production is both moving and entertaining.
Eleanor is masterfully written—with major changes from last year’s production. Make no mistake about its political associations, references to Eleanor Marx’s socialist and feminist undertakings are scant. Featuring notable side characters such as William Morris and Dollie and Ernest Radford, the play serves, above all, as literary history, rather than a hagiography. The positing of such a charged subject matter suggests that the play would be infused with a more electrifying political narrative. Rather, it appears art for art’s sake—a prettier ambition than pursuing any commentary on Marxism’s legacy. It gladly possesses an absence of shouty mock contrarianism.
That she may be described as anything beyond her relation to a figure of historical import suggests that she, too, was such an individual. While this was no doubt the case, Eleanor makes few attempts to focus on her historical achievements. As mentioned above, the personal tale here trumps the political one. The result is far more entertaining and serious, as treatment of abstractions are traded for an impactful chronicle of a remarkable woman. In doing so, Eleanor seems to quietly protest against the collectivist dismissal of the small individual.
Forget Karl Marx—Shakespeare is the true looming paternal presence felt throughout. Along with William Morris’s almost clandestine feature (the one with the beard), this cements a sense that Eleanor and her peers are wistful romantics. They seem to long for a pre-industrial cultural dreamscape. Think brittle and bookish, rather than power-hungry proles. Expertly played by Arlene McKay, Eleanor is presented as playful yet morose. Her like-ability and uniqueness are conveyed in a natural and convincing manner. The same applies for Dollie and Ernest Radford (Eleanor Greig and Eric Parker respectively) who share such an apparent connectivity on stage one easily forgets it’s theatre. Eleanor makes for easy viewing and provides a lingering depth—an achievement that is beyond impressive for a student-written play.
Image provided via theSpace Press Release.