I had a vague memory of seeing the film Jack & Sarah in my 20s and it left a warm memory with me – so when I saw it was the latest production at The Mill at Sonning I was enthusiastic.
With many of the Sonning theatre’s offering often farces, it provided a welcome change of pace and genre. The original film, starring Richard E. Grant and Samantha Mathis was poignant and heartwarming, and the latest stage offering followed suit.
Written and directed by Tim Sullivan, the story follows Jack, a successful lawyer, whose life is turned upside down when his wife suddenly dies after giving birth to his daughter. Drowning in grief and single parenthood, he soon finds himself surrounded by a cast of people willing to help.
We entered the theatre to discover someone already on stage. Turns out it was Nat the builder who was trying to complete the renovations on the couple’s house – and provided an amusing preamble while the audience took their seats.
As usual the set is one of the stars of the show, as we learn there is no roof or front door – but throughout the play it starts to transform literally before our eyes, and the final makeover during the interval is genius.
George Banks as Jack is sometimes slightly overplayed but once he settles in, there is nuance to his performance that gains the audience’s sympathy, and we were all rooting for him towards the end.
Supporting Jack through his loss is his mother-in-law Phil (Sarah Moyle) and father Michael (Neil Roberts). While also grieving the loss of her daughter, Phil offers Jack the perfect level of cruel-to-be-kind and loving support while we learn that despite Michael not having been the perfect father, he wants to make up for it now.
Nat, who is working on the renovations, pops up every now and then, transforming from cowboy builder trying to do the bare minimum to offer a caring insight, revealing his own struggles with having a family and offering Jack another avenue of support.
The baby (not a real one), named after her late mother, is surprisingly realistic while Anya de Villiers portrays American food delivery person/nanny with the perfect amount of humour and pathos while her voice shines through with the musical additions.
The cast has a good amount of chemistry between them, but it was Rufus Hound as William who steals the show. A homeless bookseller, he wanders into the front-doorless house meeting pregnant Sarah before the unthinkable happens before offering wise words and support. His transformation from down and out to dapper gentleman, along with that of the house, offers a metaphor for Jack as he transforms from grieving widow and hapless father to someone who can face the world again.
Despite the poignant nature of the subject matter, there are elements of comedy that enable the viewer to leave the theatre uplifted – and the production evoked warm memories of the film – which I have been inspired to revisit.
Running until June 14th, tickets are available at www.millatsonning.com
