The Last of the De Mullins review, Jermyn Street Theatre

The initial thought when you read that a feminist play written by an Edwardian man is to be staged in London for the first time in over a century, is that the production is either a gimmick or a folly. What a joy to discover the The Last of the De Mullins - the story of a gentlewoman who leaves her family in order to keep her illegitimate son, is neither. The writing is gritty and modern and everything from the acting to the costumes to the lighting and Victoria Johnstone's charming set, works.

Eight years after she ran away from home and adopted a new identity, Janet is called by her mother to her dying and unconscious father's bedside. By the time she and little Johnny arrive, Mr De Mullin, has rallied. Will the presence of his prodigal daughter and bastard grandson bring on a relapse? Far from it. On meeting the little chap, Mr De Mullin hatches a plan. He is currently The Last of the De Mullins, but if the child remains and reverts to the family name, the line lives on... What started as a drawing room comedy now takes a more serious turn. The arguments that follow about the position of, and social impositions on, women remain at the forefront of feminist discourse today.

So much ground is covered in this 1907 play by St John Hankin - the right of women to financial independence, to motherhood, and to self-determination - that it's impossible to reconcile all the strands with a neat ending. But if The Last of the De Mullins doesn't quite pull it off, it gets enough right to provoke and amuse in Joshua Stamp-Simon's lively, glossy, and visually rich production. It fits a lot onto the tiny stage at the little Jermyn Street Theatre.

In conclusion: Roberta Taylor and Harriet Thorpe as Mrs De Mullin and Mrs Clouston can say as much with a finger movement as a whole paragraph. Maya Wasowicz as the fading sister, Hester, is deeply moving and Charlotte Powell is a fiercely intelligent Janet. There isn't a dud performance across the piece, not even from the eight-year-old.

References
Jermyn Street Theatre, Tickets

Jermyn Street Theatre, 16b Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6ST  Run ends 28 February