Cambridge’s ADC is undeniably exceptional within the field of student theatre. Nonetheless, it is has been some time since I went to a play in or out of Cambridge so strikingly powerful as The Deep Blue Sea. Harry Michel’s production of Terrence Rattigan’s post-war masterpiece of love, lust and despair, is one filled with the swirling smoke of cigarettes and crackling operatic arias. As the lights came up, I was not the only member of the audience to find myself momentarily silenced, attempting to process the emotional aftermath of such a showcase of performances.

The show allows the audience one short, day-long glimpse into the crumbling life of Hester Collyer, a woman living in a  cramped flat on Ladbroke Grove. The whole production takes place within the confines of her carefully-arranged sitting room, as lovers, husbands, doctors and landladies bustle their way through the front door in the aftermath of an attempted suicide. Mary Galloway’s Hester is a creature to be revered, gliding across the stage with an ethereal fragility as she charms her various intruders with a sweet smile. Her poise and elegance are maintained throughout, but the faintness of her clipped tones and ever-twisting finger reveal a tumultuous undertone of emotion. Over the course of the evening, these adjustments and attempts to maintain her dignity slowly give way, unearthing a deep-rooted, overriding passion. It is these moments of inflammatory passion that reveal a woman on the brink of despair, staring hopelessly into that ‘deep blue sea’.

Both of Hester’s male interests deserve attention for their equally nuanced and powerful performances, as does Archie Preston’s turn as the cynical, world-weary Dr. Miller. Simon Alcock’s Collyer is brilliantly proper, with his bluntinterrogations and firm stare. It is Theo Hughes-Morgan’s Freddy, however, who deserves most recognition for his wholly mesmerising performance. The nature of his delayed entrance into the drama is such that the audience is introduced to him with not entirely unbiased preconceptions of his character. His subsequent actions only serve to confirm these suspicions. It is testament to Hughes-Morgan’s talent that, despite his petulance and  indignant disbelief, Freddy still manages to charm both Hester and the audience. He slips seamlessly from a schoolboy-cheek to bitterness and resentment, while his final appearance is tinged with a poignantair of one who sees no other route of escape.

Finally, a moment must be taken to acknowledge the beauty of Rob Eager’s set, a perfectly-detailed period apartment placed on an elevated cylindrical platform, framed by various doors and windows. The reduction of the ADC main stage, the size and depth of which could easily have swamped the naturalist drama of the play, allows for a crucial intimacy. All in all, The Deep Blue Sea is a tempestuous production that commands and receives the full emotional attention of its audience. I left the theatre at the end of the night with the feeling that I had just watched magnificent, unforgettable drama unfold.