BWW Reviews: Resplendent Steyn the Highlight of Abrahamse & Meyer's THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE

When THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE was first performed on Broadway, it was reviled. In hindsight, with the backdrop of 1960s America more sharply in focus, this does not seem surprising. In contrast, it seems very much in fashion nowadays for the play to be viewed as a slighted masterpiece, ahead of its time in the way Tennessee Williams embraced of Japanese theatre traditions and a highly perceptive reflection on the human phenomenon that unites us all: death. Upon viewing this production, produced by Artscape in association with Abrahamse & Meyer Productions, THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE emerges rather as a flawed masterpiece, with Williams's vision of a marriage between his traditional lyrical realist style and the conventions of Noh drama being rather more successful on paper. That said, this production of the text makes for an engrossing night at the theatre, all the more so because of a magnificent performance by Jennifer Steyn, who plays the central role of Flora "Sissy" Goforth, a character that - taken on its own terms - ranks right up there with Blanche du Bois and Maggie the Cat.

The narrative of THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE is a straightforward one. Flora "Sissy" Goforth is spending what will be her last summer in her home on the Divina Costiera in Italy. As she dictates her memoirs into a microphone system she has had installed throughout her villa, she becomes increasingly aware of the two deadlines she is facing: one from her publisher and one with her own mortality. She has a retinue of staff members that take care of her needs, most importantly Frances Black, known to her as "Blackie", ever tactful, but unafraid to voice her own concerns about life on the Goforth estate. Things seem to be unravelling quickly for Flora when Chris Flanders arrives on the scene. A poet with one one published volume of poetry, he has developed a reputation - according to Flora's bitchy neighbour, known as the Witch of Capri - for appearing when people of a certain social standing are about to die. The philosophical rhetoric that comes about as a result of his clash of wills with Flora, leads to the catharsis of a lifetime.

The framework though which Williams channels his story is influenced by his experiences with Japanese playwright, Yukio Mishima, a writer of modern Noh plays who took Williams to see several Noh and Kabuki performances during Williams's 1959 visit to Japan. One can see that Williams, in his creation of what he called "an occidental Noh play", was deeply affected by what he saw there and his inclusion of ideas from the Noh tradition is far more than a superficial pasting on of selected dramatic concepts of the form. Yet, it is not a wholly successful experiment. While the play works on many levels, the human drama that is at the centre of the piece overwhelms the Noh framework at times, which is what makes the use of conventions like the stage assistants, which the audiences of 1963 found hard to swallow, seem a little gimmicky 50 years later. The opening moments in which the assistants explain their presence, for instance, seem patronising today, with the closing moments wrapped up in a symbolic revelation that, while clear, lacks the sense of profound revelation that it seeks to evoke.

Whether one feels the Japanese theatrical conventions employed in the play work or not, they do not sink the ship as those early audiences felt it did, and a performance of THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE ultimately depends on the performance of the actress playing Flora. Steyn gives the performance of a lifetime in this role. Her work is rangy, deeply engaged with the inner life of this complex woman, and her transformation into the character is complete. I have seen Steyn deliver some remarkable work on stage, but this is the best I have ever seen from her. She sinks so deeply into the character that she is unrecognisable until the curtain call, when she emerges after a performance in which she has stripped away layer after layer of emotion and laid bare Flora's soul for all to see.

The men are less convincing in their portrayals than Steyn is, but some of this is due to the writing. Meyer wrestles valiantly with the role of Chris Flanders, but the part appears designed to trip up the actor at every turn. While the role is clearly constructed as a foil for Flora, Williams seems more caught up in what the character represents metaphysically rather than distilling those ideas into character. An allegory, after all, has two planes and as a construct, Chris Flanders is only realised completely on one of those levels.

As Blackie, Roelof Storm turns in a nuanced performance that beautifully captures the spirit of the widowed Vassar girl who serves as a secretarial companion to Sissy. His performance needs magnification though: it is the kind of turn that would play wonderfully in close up on camera, but one which that feels a little small even in this intimate theatrical space. Nicholas Dallas delivers a sweeping performance as the Witch of Capri, a vampiric old harridan who seems to thrive most when she is tormenting Sissy with the gossip concerning Chris and his visits to other aging socialites. In contrast to Storm, Dallas delivers a performance that matches Steyn's for size, but which misses out on some of the deeper layers with which the Witch aims her barbs at her contemporary. With greater balance between the actors in the space in the moment of performance, THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE would resonate more profoundly and dynamically. Hopefully, that perfect equilibrium will play itself in as the run continues.

In directing and designing THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE, Fred Abrahamse has created a mentally and visually absorbing piece that explores the many ideas that Williams wove into his play. (Meyer has also contributed to this through a series of beautiful costume designs.) It must be tempting for a contemporary director of this play to dispense with some of more alienating and less successfully integrated Japanese elements of the play - certainly a recent New York revival of the piece by Michael Wilson seems to have jettisoned some of them - so Abrahamse's engagement with those elements is something of a reward in itself. Supporting the action as it occurs onstage is an astounding soundscape of waves and musical compositions by Charl-Johan Lingefelder. Woven seamlessly into the performance, Lingefelder's work beautifully augments what transpires on stage.

THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE is a worthy follow up to last year's KINGDOM OF EARTH, both of which have been staged under the Abrahamse & Meyer Productions banner at the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. Jef Hall-Flavin, the executive director of that festival, says of the play: 'With distance comes perspective. Sometimes Americans can't see Williams' lesser-known works for their true value because the plays become trapped in a kind of nostalgic ideal.' But nostalgia cuts both ways - a rich text like this one can make one yearn for an era in American theatre than has passed when many new plays are just as rich - and confusing Williams's intentions with his achievements in this play is just as easy a trap to fall into. As a text, THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE is more occidental than what used to be called "oriental" in Williams's time: the marriage between the two traditions is integral to its philosophical blueprint, but too tentative in so many other ways. That much becomes clear in performance, even one such as this where the director has set out to embrace as completely as possible. Being able to see a production of this rarely produced Williams drama is reason enough to make the trip to the theatre, all the more so with the resplendent Steyn taking centre stage.

THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE runs at the Artscape Arena until 20 October 2013. Tickets are available through Computicket.

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