Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca at the Royal & Derngate Review
Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca
Royal & Derngate
9-14 November 2015
Reviewed by Jayne Wiggins
It is always a worry finding parking for theatres, but this was made easy as this venue has a multi-storey car park beside the theatre. St John’s car park was easy to find, easy to park and only cost £1 to park. The car park feels safe even at night and was easy to get to the theatre from. The theatre itself is a large venue with multiple entrances and a buzz of excitement upon entering the building. Whilst it was very busy, tables were clean, toilets were clean and the bar area was – though very busy – free of clutter and mess.
Staff were very polite and welcoming, whilst I initially went to the wrong check in desk, I was directed to the correct ticket collection point and met with polite staff throughout. My only complaint about the pre-show would be the late opening of the auditorium doors. The show was due to start at 7.30 but staff on the doors were not instructed to open the doors until 7.30.If there were notices to explain why, it was so noisy in the waiting area by this time that I did not hear any explanation for the late start. The show itself did not start until 7.45.
Seeing the crush at the bar we didn’t even attempt buying a drink during the interval. There is the opportunity to pre-book interval drinks however, and many people were successfully collecting their drinks without a long queue.
The theatre was filled with students who were excitedly chatting about the written work, some older members were discussing the Alfred Hitchcock version, and everyone seemed excited to see how this classic tale could be put on stage.
With very good seats (perfectly in the middle with a perfect view of the show) we were in for a fabulous evening. The set was spectacular! The whole story was played out in the same set with a simple drop of a shipwreck from the rafters to open the play. A hint at the story to come was given with the ‘body’ floating down under the shipwreck, the latter of which became the stage throughout the play. This story of suspense, unanswered questions and the illusion of a division of worlds gave al of the story from the original work, with effects which made the stage version better than I could have imagined it to be.
Imogen Sage was splendid at the new Mrs de Winter. Her early character as demure and nervous as would be expected, to the point where I felt I wanted to shake her to take charge of her surroundings! Her metamorphosis into the confident, almost haunted version of herself at the end of the play actually gave a tinge of sadness to the story of secrets, lies, and deceit.
Special mention goes to Katy Owen who played the comic role of Robert and the disturbed role of Ben. Her comic performance gave this stage version fluency and movement which could otherwise have been lacking in a stage suspense. However, that noted, the music was superb as well! I was taken aback at the use of actors as musicians, their presence on stage not at all out of place in this show and giving the lead up thrill to some of the action as the fiddle became erratic at time. The use of puppetry was a clever by the same cast members who disappeared into the background as the eye was drawn to the puppets rather than those operating them.
Overall an excellent experience. I would highly recommend this stage version of this classic thriller to anyone who has read the book, watched the Hitchcock film, or had never known the story. A 5 out of 5 for amazing set, acting, use of puppetry and skills of actor/musicians.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £10 (booking fees may apply).
Rebecca is at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton until 14 November 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01604 624811.
Royal & Derngate, Guildhall Road, Northampton, NN1 1DP | 01604 624811
