The Countess
by The Globe Theatres
by The Globe Theatres
John Ruskin (Andrew Borba) was the most noted art critic of the Victorian Age. In 1853 he was championing the young, upstart Pre-Raphaelite painters who were bent on overturning English art. They believed that people should be captured in portraits the way they truly are, and not in some idealized fashion. John Ruskin agreed and wanted to see them succeed in their revolution. He invited one of the idealistic leaders of the revolution, John Everett Millais (Gabriel Olds), to join himself and his wife for a four-month retreat in a small cabin in Scotland. Millais was to do Ruskin's portrait. But that's not all he would end up doing!
Millais immediately found himself entranced by Ruskin's young wife, Euphemia "Effie" Ruskin (Emma Roberts). He also discovered that John Ruskin, who claimed to adore realistic beauty, found his beautiful wife revolting and her human frailties abhorrent. And Ruskin let his wife know of his disdain for her routinely, going so far as to keep a journal of everything she did that displeased him. Millais, shocked by the fact that the man he idolized could treat his wife in such a way, and himself enamored of Effie, found himself in an uncomfortable dilemma. But his love of Effie encouraged him to pursue her, even if it meant sacrificing his professional career for scandal. What follows is the uneasy love triangle among a cold husband, a romantic suitor, and a woman who is torn between loyalty to her cruel husband and her affections for the young artist who recognizes her pain.
Through some convincing acting, both dramatic and subtle, the three main characters had the audience emotionally involved soon after Ruskin's coldness to Effie became evident. At times, when Ruskin was the most vicious toward his wife, I was sure half of the crowd was going to rush the stage and tear actor Andrew Borba apart limb from limb for his efforts.
The remainder of the cast was equally strong. John James Ruskin (Alan Oppenheimer) and Margaret Ruskin (Patricia Fraser), John Ruskin's parents, were the perfect in-laws from hell. And where Andrew Borba risked bodily destruction at the hands of the audience, Nance Williamson, as Lady Elizabeth Eastlake and Effie's best friend, was likely to be carried off the stage in triumph for coming to Effie's defense. The most appealing scene of the play pitted Lady Eastlake against Ruskin's parents, and to everyone's amusement Lady Eastlake won the verbal sparring easily. Her patronizing smile had the entire audience laughing gleefully every time she flashed it, which was often. And even Ruskin's butler Frederick Crawley (Jim Parsons), who had only a few lines, managed to express his strong support for Effie through properly restrained but well-executed body language.
The story itself, though at times lacking a smooth flow, allows the audience to gradually become involved with the characters. But were it not performed by outstanding actors such as this theatre was able to cast, it would likely never achieve the spellbinding effect that it had at the Globe.
Rob Hopper
San Diego Playbill