Driving Miss Daisy at the Oxford Playhouse Review

Reviewed by Katy Hart

Thirty years after it’s opening off Broadway in 1987, Driving Miss Daisy is still clocking up successful performances and after having the fortune to watch this last evening, I am sure it will continue to do so for the next thirty years and more. The Theatre Royal Bath Productions are bringing this production by Alfred Uhry, back to the stage at the Oxford Playhouse this coming week starring Dame Siân Phillips as Daisy Werthan and Derek Griffiths as Hoke Colburn.

I am embarrassed to say I haven’t visited the Oxford Playhouse before, however I certainly will be returning as it is delightful. We arrived early and managed to get free street parking only a 10-minute walk away. The Grade II listed building was refurbished in 2016 and yet despite its modern interior, it has managed to retain its character. We were made welcome as soon as we entered and were shown to our seats. A small kiosk and the bar were both open before the show and during the interval, as well as the usual ice creams being available. The queue at the bar during the interval can be quite long, however the bar staff were friendly, and managed the queue well and there was a relaxed and friendly ambience about the place.

The play begins in Atlanta, Georgia in 1948 when a 72-year-old widowed Jewish teacher, Daisy Werthan crashes her car into her neighbours garage. Her son, Boolie (played by Teddy Kempner) is worried she is no longer safe to drive and he hires her a chauffeur, an illiterate African-American, Hoke Coleburn. Daisy’s reluctance to relinquish her driving doesn’t help the relationship with Hoke get off to the best of beginnings, but as the play follows them over the next quarter of a century, their relationship develops into the most wonderful and profound friendship despite the prejudices, inequality and civil unrest of the American South.

As Alfred Uhry writes in his notes thirty years on, “At least half of the audience seeing the play wasn’t born in the time I was writing about” and we therefore do not know for ourselves just how wide the chasm was between the races. However, these prejudices be they social, religious or racial are still recognisable within our world today and maybe our society hasn’t changed as much as we like to think it has.

Driving Miss Daisy begins just three years after the Second World War and as Daisy is from a Jewish family she will have been very aware of the antisemitism in Europe and it will have impacted upon her life and that of her family and friends. Despite her rather frosty approach to Hoke at the beginning of their relationship, she is able to empathise with Hoke about the prejudices he faces.

It is poignant however that the final scene is in a nursing home with Hoke spoon feeding Miss Daisy her pie as she is unable to fend for herself – even at the very end of their relationship, Hoke remained the ‘servant’.

The play is very simplistically staged, with only a trio of actors, and very little music, however it really offers much to enjoy. The chemistry between the characters as their relationship develops and the humour that they bring to their roles makes this an absolute pleasure to watch and I would thoroughly recommend the play.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £10 to £37.50 (booking fees may apply).

Driving Miss Daisy is at the Oxford Playhouse from 30 October to 4 November 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.oxfordplayhouse.com or call the box office on 01865 305305.

Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2LW | 01865 305305