The lights of the Dowrick dim, as we are introduced to Eleanor. Portrayed by Maggie Reaney, Eleanor is reading a letter from her fiancé, Edward (played by Finlay Gatehouse), interspersed with appearances from him to set the scene. The letter being read is voiced over by Edward, to give us our first taste of both more noble characters. We also get exposition between Eleanor and our third character, Sam, played by Tom Oakes, who is a lowly farmhand.

Our first proper taste of Edward as a character comes during a lovely monologue to a rabbit. The rabbit was shown by a puppet to the side of the stage, held by the show’s writer and director, Bex Smith. It is during a moment of introspection that we suddenly get our first interaction between Edward and Sam. The instant hostility directed at Sam from Edward epitomises the bitterness that we quickly become used to from Edward as he has been begrudgingly sent home from the front, and is a true testament to the acting skills of Gatehouse.

This disdain Edward shows consistently throughout the first act makes him a hard character to relate to, meaning we as an audience latch on to the incredible performance of Reaney as Eleanor. Her versatility as an actor really shines as she shifts moods from uptight and proper through to more relaxed and flirtatious.

[Reaney’s] versatility as an actor really shines as she shifts moods

The first scene where we see Sam and Edward together in a less hostile setting is great: a product of misfortune in the moment with Edward falling unwell. While it is a little odd how quickly Edward loses his bitterness, and doesn’t withdraw from Sam when back to his senses, I do appreciate there are reasons given Sam’s ability to help with the situation. This scene also progresses naturally to allow us to learn more about each of the characters and their backgrounds. Oakes’ humanity as Sam is an endearing foil to the pure angst Gatehouse shows us as Edward.

Act 2 opens with a worryingly-convincing alcohol-fuelled moment from Edward, as he and Eleanor share secrets with each other. The confusion was superbly well acted from both – we could feel the pure, raw and messy emotions channelling through Edward as he tells Eleanor of the atrocities from the war. Coupled with the ignorance Edward shows towards Eleanor as she takes her turn to spill secrets, this scene allows for us to truly see beneath the surface of a fracturing relationship.

As the show progresses, Sam and Edward draw closer. We are introduced to more intimate moments between the pair as emotions bubble. The painful silence between Edward and Sam while sat on the wall was great, but I would have loved to linger in that moment for a bit longer.

The show featured excellent direction throughout from Bex Smith, assisted by Roz Crompton. Their creative decisions allowed for the cast to truly excel in their incredibly human, emotive performances. The pair enabled the cast to flourish in their performances, with all of the characters being so real and flawed.

The show features excellent direction throughout from Bex Smith, assisted by Roz Crompton

The stage team, co-led by Harry Naylor and Lily Beetles with help from Sarah Cross and Emily Atkinson, coordinated an extensive range of sets from the house’s interior to the eponymous lavender fields. The set design did lead to an excellent range of settings, that were all visibly different from each other, but did lead to some rather extended scene transitions at times, though the lighting design and sound from William Dinnie and Isabella Hamann respectively did allow for these transitions to not just happen in the dark, so most of the time it did not feel too long. The lighting design from Dinnie was exceptional, and complimented the diverse set to thoroughly convince us of all the different locations.

I should also mention Cross’s costuming of the show was also on point: the actors all seemed completely at home in their outfits, which fit the different story elements perfectly, though there were a few points where it was painfully obvious that the scene change was waiting for a costume change to happen.

Overall, the show was impeccable from start to finish. Despite period dramas not normally being my kind of media, I was still brought to tears in the final scene, due in part to the truly phenomenal acting of Reaney, whose emotional characterisation of Eleanor was one of the best bits of student acting I have seen in my three and a half years in Durham. I look forward to seeing where this show goes next; can it follow on from Sixth Side’s last student written show which made it all the way to Edinburgh?

Lavender is performed in the Dowrick Suite from 12th – 14th February at 19:30. Tickets can be bought here.

Image: Sixth Side Theatre