On Theatre

Where would you present a play with a cast of 17? The Olivier? The Dominion? Triptych Theatre Company think otherwise. Their revival of John Ford's tragedy of forbidden love, The Broken Heart, opened last night at the Lyric Studio, Hammersmith. With only 110 seats, no-one in the 26-strong company is going to retire on the proceeds. As Jules Melvin (right), one of the founders of Triptych, explains, 'This isn't profit-share, it's profit-loss. But we decided that as you never make money on the fringe, why not do something exciting?'

'After the success of In Lambeth, we wanted to do something completely different. We spent three or four months reading plays, and then we found this. It's an extraordinary play, and it hasn't been seen in London for over 90 years. Everybody thinks of these Jacobean/Carolinian plays as terribly bloody tragedies, with clear villians going around revenging themselves on all and sundry. This is different. It's much more psychologically acute. It's about people pushed into terrible circumstances, trying to pursue an honourable course in a world where they end up having to do dreadful things. Ford expresses their emotions so truthfully. It's a tragedy of good people.'

Halfway through Triptych's plans, they discovered that the RSC were also reviving it. 'We had to drop everything and move the dates back. What chance would we have had if we'd opened after them?'

(Photograph omitted)