England is not my home.  I come from  a place far away and have only lived here full-time for about 9 years.  London is a place that feels familiar though.  There’s an energy.  There’s a feeling.  There’s an outward point of view that makes the expense, the brusqueness, the pressure worthwhile.

But, the London I know is a relatively recent invention.  Mike Leigh gave me a glimpse into London’s past with his thoughtful, ‘Ecstasy’ currently on at the Duchess Theatre. There they were a bunch of working class English folks from Kilburn.  Actually, make that three English and one Irishman.  Through them, ‘Ecstasy’ shows us realities of marriage of a sort – infidelity and drunkennes with a blind eye.  The play forces us to finesse our notions of the proletariat – the bookworm, the could-be professional singer.  Unsparingly examining the cultural limitations of those who have been put upon as they put upon the Pakis and the blacks, ‘Ecstasy’ in subtle, slow-moving revelation reminded me that the glitz of my London has a grimy, raw, exploited foundation.

Although the cast was a generally a triumph, Sinead Matthews gave the outstanding performance of the evening with her unabashedly common Dawn.  Mother, wife, shoplifter – Dawn shows the others how to have it all with very little.  Yes, she’s happily married with children, but her husband drinks too much and is never at home.  Dawn is often well turned out – if shocking pink blouses so tight that they could choke qualify. Dawn’s life isn’t anything we’d wish for.  But, she’s happy and somehow we’re happy for her.

That’s the beauty of the play.  The characters are far from perfect.  They’re far from attractive.  In some ways, they seemed trapped under a glass cover.  They’re smothered but animated as they struggle to breathe in life.

Damaged. Certainly. Somehow though, they touch us. And in 21st century London, that’s not easy to do.

Thanks Mike Leigh, writer and director.