PUNCH IN INTERNATIONAL
by Laurie Lawson

TOM & VIV is the story of the tumultuous marriage of T.S. Eliot and Vivienne Haigh-Wood, his first wife. David A. Green plays a tense, serious Eliot who finds it "ever so difficult to be trivial." Karen Eterovich is the "nervous" Vivienne, and she bears an uncanny resemblance to the real Vivienne. Eterovich portrays her character with a forced frivolity and a constantly on-the-edge fragility. Eliot believes, and lives his life by, the credo "family unity is the root of culture."  He hastily marries Vivienne and, as a struggling young poet with few prospects, welcomes the entry into her prominent family.

Rose Haigh-Wood (Sheila Mart) is fully aware of her daughter's problems yet hopes only for someone who will be able to stand by her. Mart gives her an incredible strength and the ability to deny reality when necessary. David Dawson is marvelous as the father with an arid sense of humor. Her brother, Maurice, is superbly played by David James O'Brien.  As Maurice, he willingly admits his lack of intellect in a self-deprecrating and amiable manner. Therese McLaughlin is excellent as the chatty nurse who befriends Vivienne.

These are the characters who compose the family of TOM & VIV. They witness the unraveling of Vivienne and the eventual success of Eliot and the painful attempt of the two to maintain their union. As the audience, we are never given the opportunity to see exactly what made these two individuals come together and fight so hard to stay together.

But, if you blindly accept the fact that Eliot and Vivienne are spiritually and eternally connected and desperately doomed, TOM & VIV is one hell of a tragic love story.

Rating: B