Through the Mill - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London

****

Written and directed by Ray Rackham 

Frank Sinatra famously said, “The rest of us will be forgotten – Never Judy.” This is a quote that has lasted the test of time and Through the Mill gives but a handful of the many examples as to why this remains as true today, as it was then. 

Starting its life at The London theatre Workshop back in 2014, Through the Mill reveals an untold chapter in the life of Judy Garland, delving deeper into her personal life than ever before. It explores her neglected and practically non-existent childhood, her many failed relationships and romantic excursions in her late 20’s and the struggles she faced in her adult life with money, drugs, alcohol and thin stretched fame – all whilst desperately trying to get a TV show off the ground, despite the constant negative public reactions and her creative team changing every two weeks. The story portrayed is hilarious, touching, shocking and creates a whole new impression of the child star.

The first thing to note is how well the production has been cast. The three lead actresses who play Judy at the three pivotal stages in her life, CBS Judy (Helen Sheals), Palace Judy (Belinda Wollaston) and Young Judy (Lucy Penrose) are diverse and expertly show different sides of the damaged actress. 

A basic set from Johnson Williams lends itself well to the story’s practicality. The constant weaving in and out of time lines cries out for a flexible and malleable set that can be a sound studio one moment, or a touring train or cabaret stage the next. The use of actor musicians however is a distraction. Having some of the actors double as the sound studio band or Garland’s orchestra may be clever and economic, however it takes away from some characters’ performances. 

Sheals portrayal of Garland in her older years, is the first version of Judy we are given and her performance is really something. She captures Garland in her entirety from her distinctive voice to her very specific physical movements on stage whilst performing. Sheals’ juxtaposition of vulnerability and strength in different moments has one on her side throughout, regardless of whether or not her actions are childish or selfish - Specifically her performance of The Man That Got Away, is phenomenal and a real show stopping moment. Likewise, Wollaston is equally as moving, showing the actress during her developing romance with manager Sid Luft (Harry Anton) who she went on to marry. There is a particularly intimate moment on stage between Wallaston and Anton, where despite the heat and passion of the occasion, every movement is made as though there is an audience watching, giving us a look into the psyche of Garland – That no part of her every day could be acted out without her being made up as a spectacle. 

The star of the show however is Lucy Penrose with a portrayal of the younger Garland that is utterly breath taking and an imitation of Garland’s voice that is simply perfect. Penrose is not only completely convincing, her acting is passionate with an ability to show the wide variety of emotions - dealing with MGM’s constant criticising of her weight, to falling in love with her accompanist Roger Edens (Tom Elliot Reade) or defending her father from the crushing belittlement of her domineering mother, that is nothing short of heart breaking. 

So much more than just a story weaved around Judy Garland’s timeless songs, Ray Rackham has turned out a gorgeous piece of thrilling theatre.

Runs until 30th July

Reviewed by Charlotte Darcy

Through the Mill - The Three Faces Of A One Man Woman

As Ray Rackham's Through the Mill prepares to open at  the Southwark Playhouse, Paul Vale takes a look at this play based around Judy Garland and the men she loved.

There can be no doubt that entertainer Judy Garland continues to be a source of fascination for people working in show business. The body of work she left as her legacy encompasses major motion pictures, television, recordings and historic live performances, but it is Garland's chequered private life that captures the imagination of actors, playwrights and directors more than 40 years after her death.

Garland's movies are regularly shown on networked channels; Peter Quilter's play End Of The Rainbow is currently wowing audiences on tour; Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft continue to reference their mother in sell-out shows and now writer/director Ray Rackham has created his tribute to Garland's incredibly theatrical and turbulent life in Through the Mill. For those among you confused by the title, it's a line in Garland's signature number 'The Man That Got Away'. Appropriate as Through the Mill is a musical play that concentrates of the men in Garland's life.

While three actors play Garland in this non-linear play with songs - Lucy Penrose, Belinda Wollaston and Helen Sheals - there are seven actors who make up the men in Garland’s life include newcomers Perry Meadowcroft, Chris McGuigan and Tom Reade; Shakespearean actor Harry Anton; fringe theatre regular Joe Shefer; stand-up comedian Rob Carter; and West-End veteran Don Cotter. They bring with them a collection of musical instruments, for in this new take on the traditional icon biopic, the actors who play Judy’s supporting men are also her supporting band.

Lucy Penrose as Young Judy

Author Rackham explains, “When I was writing the piece, I always thought it would be a neat conceit to have the men who played a significant part in Garland’s story also provide that incredible orchestral sound that is so typically Judy. We’ve found an extremely talented bunch of actor-musos, who not only portray the male characters with such sensitivity, but can also pick up an alto sax and play a ‘Get Happy’ solo in the entracte.”

“The opportunity to play a real character with history is what drew me to Through the Mill” says Tom Reade, who plays Roger Edens in the play, “particularly as my character is one of the few truly good men in her life. I believe her chaotic love life was a product of an insecure and loveless childhood. The moments we see with Edens in the play are often the few pockets of happiness and excitement in an otherwise complex and stressful world”.

“It is this incredibly theatrical and turbulent life that Through the Mill explores” says Chris McGuigan, who plays acclaimed film and theatre director Norman Jewison in the play. “Judy is an icon, a legend with surprising volatility and fragile vulnerability. The play beautifully demonstrates Judy’s resilience through the adversity in her life, rather than relishing her low points and shortcomings of later life, which I think is much more worthy of celebration”

Often referred to as the ‘least worst’ man in Garland’s life, Sidney Luft was very much the man who didn’t get away, for a while at least. From their first meeting in 1950 to their marriage in 1952 and eventual divorce in 1965. To many, Luft was an opportunist to clung onto Garland’s star for as long as he could. Playing Luft however, Harry Anton has a somewhat different take on his relationship with Garland.

“I think it says a lot about Judy that her longest relationship was with this tough New Yorker,” Anton explains, “in that she wasn’t at all like the Judy Garland that the public had imagined. She was tough. She carried a lot of pain”.

Anton is the only character in Through the Mill who gets to work with more than one of the three actresses playing the legendary singer. “I’m very lucky in that I get to act with two ‘Judies’, who both bring out something different in me through the differences in their own performances. Belinda Wollaston brings so much passion and fire as the 1951 Judy, but also brings a massive vulnerability. Highs and lows. That’s how it feels playing the part. Always on the edge, almost like stepping into a ring. 

But, like any relationship, there has to be love present, so it helps having someone like Belinda who I can trust, and we’re both comfortable finding all these different levels and vulnerable places that the characters get to.

When I am playing opposite Helen Sheals as 1963 Judy, it’s a much steelier, wiser version of Judy, who holds all of the power. Helen’s Judy is the driving force of the scene, and in a way Helen is that as well, so I just kind of hold on and let her do her thing.”

Supporting Company

Garland was painfully conscious that she had no formal training before joining the movie making factory that was MGM; and it was that lack of stage-education that led to an inferiority complex that she never truly lost. Always incredibly perceptive, it was Garland who suggested that this complex resulted in a deep rooted anxiety that worsened as she aged. This came to a head significantly in 1963, in scenes depicted by Sheals’ Judy, where during the filming of her ill-fated television show, the CBS executive Hunt Stromberg Jr, played by Rob Carter in the play, was never far from her wrath.

Says Carter, “Theirs was a fractious relationship, two strong characters trying to suss each other out, relishing the upper hand when they had it, and doing everything to get it back when they lost it. By the end of Through the Mill, I think they’re both tired of the games they’ve been playing and we get to see the people behind the masks.”

Carter has nothing but praise for his co-star Sheals, “Helen is an absolute pleasure to work with.Always present, always enjoying herself, she really breathes life into the scenes and makes it very easy to bounce off her.”

Ray Rackham has the last word. “It’s no doubt that Garland’s relationships with the various men in her life were not always pleasant and in many cases were hugely destructive” Rackham comments, “but I didn’t want my play to reflect only that. I wanted us to celebrate her triumphant nature as much as witness how cruel life can be”.

Through The Mill opens on 6th July and runs until 30th July, at the Southwark Playhouse, London.