This is a play about Elwood P Dowd who believes that his best friend is a six foot rabbit called Harvey who can foretell the future. Elwood, played brilliantly by James Dreyfus and an inspired casting choice, is a man who has chosen to “be pleasant rather than smart”. Maureen Lipman is equally well-suited to the role of his anxious sister Veta.
The story revolves around Veta’s attempt to have Elwood committed, the fall from grace of the psychiatric profession and the mix-ups that occur at the sanatorium. Harvey’s existence is called into question - is he is really a figment of Elwood’s imagination or a pookah (a mischievous shape-changing fairy in Celtic myths)?
It’s a gentle play about innocence, hope and faith – and the benefits and power of being pleasant under the most trying circumstances.
The story unfurls slowly at the start – generating a few wry smiles. As it progresses, those smiles turn to laughs. And you can’t help feel better about life in general by the end. And that was the reason that Mary Chase wrote the play in the 1940s – to cheer up a bereaved friend. Harvey won a Pulitzer Prize after a long run on Broadway.
The sets are impressive – a large, dark and elaborate library glides into a clinically bright sanatorium and then later transforms into a realistic, smoky down town bar and back again. It’s timeless appeal – whether or not you adore the film version featuring James Stewart – will reach the older generation and may just capture the hearts of a new one.
Harvey plays at Richmond Theatre until Saturday 7th March http://www.atgtickets.com/shows/harvey/richmond-theatre/ and then moves on to Brighton but is likely to move to the West End later.
