Orange Tree Theatre’s adaptation of Murder in the Cathedral takes the title as an instruction, staging it at the nearby St John the Divine Church. A divine choice this proves to be, with this excellent, well-rounded production from director Tom Littler doing great justice to T.S. Eliot’s beautiful verse.Eliot wrote Murder in the Cathedral on commission for the Canterbury Festival in 1935 (more on this later), and it retells a particularly dramatic moment in English religious history: the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Upon his return to England in 1170 after a seven-year exile, Becket knows that his old enemy King Henry will be out for blood. Ahead of his doom, visiting ‘Tempters’ put Thomas’ faith and moral purity to the test, even as the priests and laypeople look to him for spiritual guidance.
First thing’s first, the book of Murder in the Cathedral is beautiful. (T.S. Eliot writes good verse, who knew?) It’s wonderfully lyrical and the imagery is evocative, full of allegorical references to nature and the turning seasons. It’s sometimes dense but, as with Shakespeare, half the joy is puzzling out the meaning while allowing the prettiness of the language to wash over you.
Littler’s choice (or whoever’s choice it was) to stage Murder in the Cathedral in a church is inspired. It’s immersive and atmospheric, lending even greater gravity to Becket’s religious musings (he delivers his Christmas sermon from the actual pulpit). Special mention should also go to lighting designer Peter Mumford who manages to not only turn the church into a fully functioning theatre, but add some nice visual tricks too.
The production brilliance continues with Robert Jones’ set design (the real candles in Act II are a visually arresting addition) and Cat Fuller’s costume design. Fuller opts not for 12th-century fare but the smart suits of Eliot’s 1930s contemporaries. It cleverly underlines the parallel Eliot draws between Henry II’s iron rule and the then-nascent Nazi Party. When Becket’s assassins are asserting the rule of law in their black turtlenecks and long leather coats, it’s impossible to ignore the similarities.
David Suchet is wonderful as Becket, plummy and authoritative as ever, but with subtle touches of vulnerability at key moments. However, the standout performance might be from the ‘Canterbury women’, a haunting Greek chorus portrayed by professionals alongside an amateur cast. Their harmonies are beautiful and Orlando Gough’s stunning score (taking inspiration from hymns and folk music) is worth the price of admission alone.
Littler’s Murder in the Cathedral takes an already beautiful text and then knocks it out of the park in all aspects of the production. Top marks all around.
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