Broken Legs Blog

Next up in Nottingham Theatre Royal’s Classic Thriller Season is Ira Levin’s 1973 play “Veronica’s Room”. This dark and tense play takes place entirely in the attic bedroom of a large family house, which has been left untouched since the 30s. Large bedsheets hide various pieces of furniture, which, when removed, reveal a half-finished jigsaw, a partially-completed painting and a record player with the record left in. The last record Veronica ever heard…

The bedroom belongs to Veronica, who died from tuberculosis in the 30s, and whose family have left the room untouched ever since, in order to preserve her memory. We are told all this by the caretakers John (Jeremy Lloyd Thomas) and Maureen (Susan Earnshaw), who have looked after the house ever since Veronica’s parents passed away, and who now care for Veronica’s elderly sister Cissie.

John and Maureen invite young couple Susan (Hannah Blaikie) and Larry (David Osmond) to the house, after a chance encounter with them at a local restaurant, where they noticed that Susan looks extremely similar to the deceased Veronica. They ask Susan to pretend to be Veronica for the benefit of Cissie, who is suffering from dementia and dying from cancer. They believe a final conversation with Veronica will bring her great joy in her final days.

This all seems a strange set-up, and Larry is more than willing to point out these oddities to Susan, but Susan is still happy to go along with it, believing it her duty to inflict some happiness on Cissie’s sorry situation. What follows is a tale that is dark, twisted and downright messed up. To say any more would be to give the game away, but there are revelations in this play that truly made my head feel like it was going to explode. The play explores themes that I can safely say I have never seen explored onstage before, and the 15+ age certificate is more than warranted.

The play begins as a slow burn, with lots of exposition and information thrown at the audience, but the characters are so well-formed and likeable (to begin with) that this is not a problem. Despite all this set-up, there is still a sense of foreboding. The gentle swaying of the curtain in the breeze is enough to hint that there are sinister forces at work, but the direction that this tale takes is completely unpredictable. Strap yourselves in, it’s quite a ride.

There is not a weak link in the cast. Blaikie does a fine job as the main protagonist (I never thought watching someone solve a jigsaw puzzle could be so creepy), whilst Lloyd Thomas and Earnshaw are superb as an elderly couple that begin by winning your affections only to- no, I’m not giving anything away here!

To say I “enjoyed” the play is perhaps not the right expression for a play as twisted as this. It is fascinating, breath-taking, utterly captivating throughout, but it will leave you with a deep sense of unease, and an ending that will play on your mind long after the curtain has fallen.

Tom Morley, August 2024