Five star review of A Passionate Woman at Leeds Playhouse

As a tribute to the late Kay Mellor Leeds Playhouse are restaging A Passionate Woman her first hit play staged in The Courtyard Theatre 30 years ago.

The original production of Mellor’s award winning drama propelled the Leeds writer into the theatrical spotlight with a story crafted from a surprising disclosure by her mother. Director Tess Seddon’s production has pace, momentum and sensitivity. Seddon moves seamlessly from comedy to pathos and back again without losing Mellor’s voice.

A Passionate Woman is played out on an ingenious revolving set designed by award winning Rose Revitt that takes us from a dusty loft space to the roof tops. The play centres around Betty, a passionate doting mother described by her husband as “too much of a mother not much of a wife”, who on the day of her son’s wedding locks herself in the loft as she struggles to accept that he’s leaving home.

Betty is joined by her son Mark who demands an explanation of her behaviour on his big day. After a while he surmises she is confused and really cannot believe what he is hearing from her when he learns of her past dalliance with Craze who still lives vividly in her head. His father, Donald, eventually joins him in the loft and a new understanding develops between them both whilst Betty takes to the roof. Both father and son try to coax her down unsuccessfully as she is vividly reminded by a ghost from her past of how passionate she once was.

Leeds Playhouse has assembled one of its strongest casts for this revival production. Katherine Dow Blyton (Betty) gives a stand-out performance and nails the emotional side of the role beautifully. Her speeches are delivered with pure conviction as she flips unflinchingly from extreme comedy to serious mode and back again.

Tom Lorcan’s Mark is a total joy to watch and his bewilderment at what Betty reveals is played to perfection. There’s a stellar portrayal of the ‘northern husband’ from David Crellin (Donald) who according to Betty “changed the day he got married” but who is now determined to go to any lengths to save his marriage. As Craze Michael Bijok is just so believable in every way and has amazing facial expressions – little wonder Betty fell hook, line and sinker for him.

To June 10.