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If charity starts at home, its flow is in short supply in this revival of British writer Somerset Maugham’s final play, written in 1933. When hairdresser Sheppey strikes it lucky betting on the races and decides to give the money away to the less fortunate, his family are horrified.
You don’t have to dig deep for the parallels between now and then. Reeling from the Great Depression, Sheppey’s London is rife with poverty, while the puffed-up coterie of lords, doctors and financiers who end up in Bradley’s Hairdressing and Barber’s Saloon either vilify the poor as lazy or accuse them of bringing it on themselves.
Maugham taps into a rich vein of bitter comedy as he exposes the hypocrisy and venality of those who speak hollowly of Christian values but don’t live by them. A slew of sharp lines show there’s definitely no such thing as society here. Manicurist Miss Grange (Katie Moore) approaches her social betterment with almost military precision.
Orange Tree Theatre artistic director Paul Miller’s production unfolds at a leisurely pace – across three acts and two intervals – but has some great ideas. Here, prostitute Bessie Legros, who Sheppey takes in, is played (brilliantly, with weary pragmatism) by performance artist Dickie Beau. It’s a new texture to the play, broadening its world without a word spoken.
The Christ parallels become increasingly glaring as ‘Sheppey’ heads towards its unexpectedly metaphysical (and overlong) third act. But as the play depicts a corrosive combination of social class and intellectual snobbery – figured by newcomer Josh Dylan’s nicely slimy turn as Sheppey’s prospective son-in-law – it’s anchored by John Ramm as the titular hairdresser.
Ramm gives us a portrayal of open-handed faith in doing the right thing – an everyman Sheppey, as transparent as his easy smile. It’s a bulwark against those who are only able to see his unqualified kindness as mental illness. Beneath the play’s surface amiability, there’s a savage rebuke.