ANTHONY Biggs production of I Have Been Here Before feels a little like the black and white movie that you start watching at home on a rainy afternoon because you suddenly find yourself with nothing else to do. And the tiny intimate space of the Jermyn street theatre is the theatrical equivalent of a Sunday afternoon sofa.
Nevertheless the play is an oddity. Priestley was exploring his preoccupation with time, chiefly the idea that time is a concentric pattern of interlinking circles, leading to the idea that we have actually been here before, and therefore may be able to alter our future circumstances. I can’t help thinking this is just an elaborate explanation for what we now call, déjà vu.
Janet Ormond in I Have Been Here Before
Certainly Janet Ormond played by Alexandra Dowling (best known for her role as the Queen in The Three Musketeers,) the much younger wife of businessman Walter Ormond ( David Schaal) experiences this when the couple first arrive at a remote inn on the Yorkshire moors for Whitsuntide weekend. However, it doesn’t stop her from declaring her love to another guest, an overworked headmaster of the local school and announcing their elopement, until Dr Goetler, an exiled German scientist, also a guest at the inn, explains his theory of time to them, foretelling a future of misery, (they have all been there before) and persuading them to change their fate.
Janet Ormond in I Have Been Here Before
The performances are strong, particularly from Edward Halsted as Goetler, and David Schaal, who brings a laid back sangfroid to his role as the workaholic husband. But the relationship between Janet and her lover is weakly written, though Dowling herself brings a stillness and poise to the role that is eminently watchable.
A scene from I Have Been Here Before
Lucky Burt’s set design, hues of blues and greys, is subtly modernising rather than slavishly faithful to the period. And the wonderful intimacy of the Jermyn Street Theatre’s space, so little and yet so central, with the audience on three sides, conspires to make you feel rather exclusive. The evening was a calm and quiet treat, a welcome suspension from the ceaseless footfall on the pavements above. It’s worth seeking out this little gem of a theatre for the experience itself, even if this particular play isn’t quite so sparkling.
by Gabriella Crewe-Read
I Have Been Here Before by JB Priestley runs until May 21 at Jermyn Street Theatre,
 16b Jermyn Street, 
London SW1Y 6ST