Quartet in Autumn at Arcola Theatre

The name Quartet in Autumn may ring a bell to literature lovers, particularly to fans of the author Barbara Pym, whom Philip Larkin called “the most underrated writer of the century”. Pym’s novel of the same name was originally published in 1977 and shortlisted for the Booker prize. It now provides the source material for the Arcola Theatre production by director Dominic Dromgoole. This production marks the first stage adaptation of the much-beloved novel, having been adapted for the stage by Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey (Orbital). A very literary play indeed!

Quartet in Autumn centres around four ageing co-workers as they approach retirement in 1970s London: the kind-hearted Letty (Kate Duchêne), the church-going widower Edwin (Anthony Calf), the harsh and solitary Marcia (Pooky Quesnel), and the unfiltered, bantering Norman (Paul Rider). Following their everyday lives – marked by amusingly mundane office conversations on topics such as the appropriate time for tea and the benefits of home ownership – the play quickly reveals itself to be more than a humorous commentary on the banality of workplace chitchat.

Over the course of the two-hour, five-minute run-time, the audience comes to know each character more intimately, watching as their relationships with one another develop, while remaining consistently undefined and unclear. Although they have spent years working alongside one another, it is revealed over time how little they truly know one another. While not immediately obvious, given the lighthearted tone of the first act in particular and the consistently comedic dialogue, the play’s true focus is on how loneliness and dissatisfaction pervade each of its characters.

Despite having been written in and set in the 70s, Quartet in Autumn‘s central themes remain extremely relevant to life in the 21^st century. Dromgoole’s production is subtle in its method of drawing attention to the epidemic of disconnectedness that each of its characters suffers from. Through a mixture of conversation and monologue, he and Harvey allow the audience to comprehend how each of the characters interprets and misinterprets one another’s actions. For example, while Marcia finds Norman’s insistence on sharing coffee more of an annoyance than anything, Letty suspects that this may signal a certain affection on Norman’s part for his coworker. But Norman of course, can never explicitly admit this affection out loud.

The staging is simple, with the four-way desk set-up in act one reinforcing the quartet’s centrality. The four-person cast does a stellar job of moving between the comedic and the tragic without ever veering into the territory of slapstick or melodrama. Duchêne’s performance as the lost-in-life Letty is particularly affecting, as is Quesnel’s second-act transformation into the ailing Marcia. Rider’s Norman provides much of the comic relief and brings an endearing earnestness to his character, while Calf’s subtler performance as Edwin balances this out.

Watching Quartet in Autumn at the Arcola Theatre, you will definitely laugh, and there’s a good chance you’ll cry. At its heart, it’s a testament to the power of connection in all its forms and its essential nature, despite the innate unknowability of other people.