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 Office life may have changed greatly over the past three years, thanks to Covid and Zoom, but the Tower Theatre’s London Wall, written by John van Druten back in 1931, and now directed by Stephen Brasher, reminds us that there was a time when the ‘old normal’ was seen as new and revolutionary. Dealing with the romantic lives of office staff at the London law firm, Messrs Walker, Windemere & Co, it centres around three main characters, the thirty-five year old office manager Miss Janus (Stephanie Farrell), the newly joined secretary Pat Milligan (Eloise McCreedy) and Mr Brewer (Nick Edwards) a junior solicitor and office womaniser.
Although Milligan is developing a budding relationship with ambitious novelist Hec Hammond, (Aleksei Toshev), who works in the office below, Mr Brewer is determined to have her for himself, and is soon bombarding her with offers of tickets to the theatre and dinners out. Despite warnings from Miss Janus, who knows what Mr Brewer is capable of, Milligan finds it’s impossible to resist. Floundering around in an attempt to steer Milligan down the correct path, Miss Janus herself has to come to terms with the death of her relationship with a Dutch diplomat.
Both the three central roles are well cast. Stephanie Farrell brings a maturity, presence and steeliness to the role of Miss Janus, while also portraying the melancholy of an interwar woman worried that she may be doomed to spinsterhood. Edwards uses his outward charm and charisma to disguise his ultimately bullying and manipulative nature. McCreedy also demonstrates the idealism and naiveté of her character, while giving glimpses of determination and courage toward the end.
The supporting characters not only help drive the plot along, but also demonstrate their own personal dramas, with Alison Liney stealing the show as an eccentric elderly client looking for a worthy cause. Jonathan Norris provides a touch of old-fashioned dignity as senior partner Mr Walker, who knows that he is out of date, but still has enough innate decency to do the right thing. Aleksei Toshev is an impetuous yet bashful Hec Hammond. Yasmin Branch as Miss Hooper, Laura Fleming as social butterfly Miss Bufton and Sandy Miller as brash office boy Birkenshaw round out the ensemble.
Phillip Ley’s set and the costumes created by Sheila Burbidge and Peter Westbury also help evoke the atmosphere of an interwar office, while the sound team of David East, Kaushal Ginige and Stephen Brasher have managed to dig up some tunes from the period. The other technical crew include, Samuel Littley, David East, Katherine Kennett, Richard Davies, Jonathan Ringshall and Richard Kirby.
Given that it is nearly a century old, it’s not surprising that London Wall may be little slow-paced at certain moments compared with more modern drama. Still, Stephen Brasher’s excellent production brings out the best in a work with an ultimately satisfying ending that reminds us that that we aren’t the first generation to struggle with the changing nature of working life, and we probably won’t be the last.
Photography by Giulia Paratelli
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