MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON. With Julie-Anne McDowell. Directed by Charmaine Weir-Smith. Production Design: Kieran McGregor. Stage Management: Loren Nel. Baxter Studio.

KAREN RUTTER reviews

“There was a time, and it was many years ago now, when I had to stay in a hospital for almost nine weeks.” Thus begins Elizabeth Strout’s story about Lucy Barton, a narrative first expressed in novel form, and now brought to the stage. It’s fair to say that the theatrical version sticks very closely to the original, with judicious editing bringing the production in at a neat 80 minutes.

Strout’s account of a woman who is brought up in a dysfunctional family, who moves to New York and becomes a writer, is both tender and matter-of-fact; told in the form of a monologue, it all kicks off in the hospital room where Lucy is being kept after a routine operation results in complications. Bedbound and anxious (she has two young daughters at home, being cared for by their father), Lucy wakes up to find her mother at her side. They have not seen each other for many years, and the reconnection opens up in Lucy a flood of recollections, which she shares on stage.

Julie-Anne McDowell takes the roles of both Lucy and her mother, distinguishing each character with a specific accent, or scowl, or smile. She does well to establish each personality, as a tale of vulnerability, shame, abuse and escape unspools. The script, like the book, does not necessarily follow a chronological sequence, but rather moves backwards, forwards and in between, rather like one’s own memories. It has the effect of softening some of the more harsh moments, as Lucy remembers growing up poor and rural where her school mates would yell “your family stinks” and her parents, usually her mother, struck her children “impulsively and vigorously”.

My Name is Lucy Barton ReviewSmooth transition to the stage

The effect of a violent and shameful childhood is to send Lucy into the world of books, where reading becomes her way to create a new world. And eventually, through both her reading and resultant writing, Lucy does make it into her own new world away from her PTSD-afflicted father and complex, sometimes cruel mother. Hence a hospital bed in New York – as opposed to a gurney in the Mid West.

Despite the sombre outlines of the story, My Name is Lucy Barton is essentially optimistic. It’s also an ode to the joys (and sorrows) of independence, and a layered look at the complicated relationships that often play out between mothers and daughters. In this stage version, director Charmaine Weir-Smith keeps the pace flowing steadily as McDowell inhabits the stage with confidence and grace. Those who enjoyed the book – and there are many – will find this a smooth transition to the stage.

What: My Name is Lucy Barton

Where: Baxter Theatre from 18 September to 5 October 2024

Tickets: Webtickets

WS