The world premiere of Eric Roth’s play (with music) High Noon has arrived at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Based on the 1952 film, but only loosely, it presents a tale in real-time, played out underneath a clock face.
Will Kane (Billy Crudup) is retiring as town Marshal on his wedding day to Quaker widow Amy Fowler (Denise Gough). The townsfolk wish them well, they seem set for their new life as shopkeepers away from town.
But there’s a train due at noon, and Frank Miller will be on it, hell bent for revenge against Kane, the man who put him away for murder. The town’s been cleared up, but are good men more likely to stand up or become cowards?
Standing up for what is right, ending wrongs with gunfire, and whether religion can do battle with love, are central to High Noon. So, too, are three shots to make sure, and it is impossible not to feel the discomfort of that against yesterday’s events in Minnesota.
I’m a huge fan of the film, written by Carl Foreman partly to make a comment on McCarthyism and “naming names” That this stage version does not have Kane’s iconic action at the end surprised me. It seems so central to the story.
Will Kane stands for human decency and community. As he seeks help to ward off Miller, he is faced with the cold reality of the town he’s loved and nurtured.
The use of song segments, by Bruce Springsteen (notably “I’m on Fire”), and “The Ballad of High Noon” aka “Do Not Forsake Me'”, and “Streets of Laredo” add colour but break up the building tension.
This isn’t Girl From The North Country. It could have been, but Roth and director Thea Sharrock chose another path. I did appreciate more time spent on Amy, and on Helen Ramirez (Rosa Salazar) – the Mexican linking Miller, Kane, and deputy Harvey (Billy Howle) in affection.
This stage version of High Noon is an interpretation of the film. The church scene remains, and the bar, but there’s an atmospheric arrival of the noon train, and the gradual leak of light through the slats of the set (Tim Hatley, also costumes) is enough to suggest the passage of time.
Crudup thankfully avoids any attempt to mimic Gary Cooper’s performance of 73 years ago. He’s much more explosive, a man who struggles with the conflict between oath, badge, and wife. A 19th century man with a 21st century sheen.
In Gough’s Amy, there’s a vulnerability that is resolute and decisive. You don’t know what brought her to this town and this man who represents all she finds repellent. “I don’t want to ride with a killer”, she says, but what does she think a Marshal is legally cleared to do?
That tension I mentioned might have been tighter with a clock chime now and then. It’s a still old town, just waiting for something to happen. Still enough for a shot to quiet (or quicken( the heart.
If you’re new to the story, you’ll see it differently than if you know the film intimately. If you’re the latter, you can appreciate how Roth has made changes; if the former, you will wonder how the plot pans out.
There are moments I didn’t like – an odd moment of dance, a sleazy station master, even Amy’s maturity – but in the main this is a good production, just not one of the greats.
It’s ***.5 from me.
High Noon is at the Harold Pinter Theatre to 6 Mar – https://highnoontheplay.com/
Photo credit: Johan Persson