INTERVIEW: Amanda Drew finds herself at the ‘Height of the Storm’
Photo: The Height of the Storm stars Eileen Atkins, Jonathan Pryce and Amanda Drew. Image courtesy of BBB / Provided with permission.
The Height of the Storm, the new Broadway play by acclaimed writer Florian Zeller, deals with the often difficult themes of dementia, memory, family, love and loss. It’s a drama that packs a wallop for audiences, especially because the 90-minute narrative is often changing perspectives, like a light traveling through a prism and emitting a rainbow of changing colors.
At the center of this theatrical prism is Amanda Drew, who plays the pivotal character of Anne. The role is a demanding one because she serves as the linchpin between her ailing and aging parents (portrayed by Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce).
“I absolutely love the play,” Drew said in a recent phone interview. “I’ve always admired his writing, and I was lucky enough to be in The Father. … It’s a really great thing to be involved in because the play itself does speak to people.”
Drew, who also appeared in Unreachable and Three Days in the Country, welcomes the audience members who are a bit confused by the storytelling in the play because that mimics the central father figure’s struggle with dementia. Not everything (or everyone) is easily understood or as it seems, and what the characters have to say sometimes combines the past, the present and the imagined — all at the same time.
“Some people enjoy the confusion, and some people really get what I get from the play, which is a great resonance about family and how if theater does its best job it actively engages your empathy and compassion,” the actor said. “I feel that what the piece really speaks to me about is how often our own family relationships can be the hardest in our lives, for some people anyway, certainly for me and a lot of my friends. Families can have a difficult negotiation sometimes with those relationships, and yet they’re the deepest ones you’ll possibly experience in your life.”
No matter what age audience members might be when they experience The Height of the Storm, there will likely be recognition with the experiences and characters on the stage of the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where the drama is playing an extended limited engagement through Nov. 24. The production comes to New York City courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club.
“It’s wonderful to talk about loss, either through death or through dementia,” Drew said. “There is a growing number of plays that tackle this subject, but up until recently nobody really talked about how difficult it is when a parent becomes the person you’ve got to suddenly look after. … I think it’s wonderful that it’s talking about that and speaking to people as well.”
In the play, the character of Anne is referred to as having had a difficult relationship with her father. This is mostly because her father was a successful writer, and Anne had dreams of emulating that success.
“It’s almost like there was a sense of competition, never being able to get beyond her admiration of him, but also that was very intimidating,” she said. “So Anne, more than her sister, Élise, has a rather conflicted view of her father and now is in the position where she has to look after him and parent him, and yet I think it rises up in her this sense that she didn’t feel like she was parented in the same way. She feels a gulf between them but also a huge loss because it’s blood. It’s family. I could sort of see how many conflicting emotions that could rear up because of that premise.”
This production of the play, translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Jonathan Kent, originated in London’s West End. When Drew first read the play in anticipation of its initial run at Wyndham’s Theatre, she had to reread it a few times. The premise engaged her, but she needed to process the narrative hurdles.
“I had to read it several times to understand the different planes and times and perspectives that are in the play, so I did that work before I turned up in the room,” Drew said. “I think both Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins, their characters don’t have to appreciate the play in its reality almost. … I knew from the start I had to have a certainty about what’s going on.”
During rehearsals, Drew was pleasantly surprised to find that her interpretation of Anne was different than the director’s take. This led to some interesting conversations and the realization that the audience would likely have multiple interpretations.
“[The director] is adamant that it’s important for the audience to have different responses, and I agree with that,” she said. “Hopefully the play is received by people in the way they want to receive it. … In a sense, both my journey as the character and the actress is on the same lines.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Height of the Storm, featuring Amanda Drew, plays through Nov. 24 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets for the Manhattan Theatre Club production.
