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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Missing teen Hannah Thomas-Garner found safe Public Meetings: March 9-13 Since You Asked: What are those wetland creatures in the creeks? Exercise helps special-needs kids adjust to airport procedures Emergency services, March 8 Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, March 8 Jackson County searchers looking for missing man Emergency services, March 7 Emergency services, March 6 Arkansas man arrested for robbery in Medford Politics and Elections Ex-Merkley aide chosen as Oregon secretary of state Ashland: Budget increase, swimming pool funding discussion on council agenda Judge upholds Phoenix's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries Ballots on Jackson County marijuana tax go out Friday Brown's inauguration brings hope to local lawmakers Education Willow Wind students raise money for water District considers options to keep school tracks open, safe Ashland School District learns why its anti-bullying rating was low Ashland district rethinks transfer approval process MSD to save taxpayers nearly $10.5 million by refinancing Environment Catastrophic wildfires expected in Southern Oregon this summer The new normal under climate change? Lost Creek Lake algae bloom subsides Lost Creek Lake logjam could become hazard for boaters Made in the Shade State News Federal judge orders speedier Klamath wildlife refuge management plan Former Josephine County students sue school district over alleged abuse Ex-Merkley aide chosen as Oregon secretary of state Eastern Oregon dig uncovers ancient stone tool Team tracks new baby orca Nation - World Obituaries Joseph Elsworth William "Les" Mason Irene Meredith Barbara Anne Knuth Wolfe Howard Johnson Jr. Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Bank of America is predicting a massive Tesla collapse Mars One attracts science fiction geeks and people who hate society This $1 million Mercedes is like an armored private jet for the road Sports Latest Stories Comets Cruise Spartans win series, advance to semis Washington stuns No. 13 Utah, 77-68 T-Wolves snap Blazers' win streak, 121-113 Gutches wins fourth title, leads SOU to second Varsity 541 College Sports Washington stuns No. 13 Utah, 77-68 Gutches wins fourth title, leads SOU to second Raider relay team second at nationals Colorado stuns No. 8 Oregon State Four Raiders in semis at NAIAs Pro Sports T-Wolves snap Blazers' win streak, 121-113 Lowly Philadelphia knocks off Atlanta Ace helps Holmes expand Doral lead Spartans cruise to playoff victory Morgan's goal sparks 3-0 U.S. win Community Sports Business Latest Stories Business briefs: March 7 Blog: A Few of Our Favorite Places New construction prices jump 18.2 percent in Jackson County CEO Rieder leaving Erickson March 31 Harry & David announces new president Real Estate News Business briefs: March 7 New construction prices jump 18.2 percent in Jackson County People In Business People in Business: Feb. 28 People in Business Transportation CEO Rieder leaving Erickson March 31 Lodging gains bode well for travel industries Medford airport flies past January record Agriculture Harry & David announces new president Warm winter has fruit growers poised for action Briefcase: Business briefs for Feb. 21 Opinion Latest Letters to the Editor, March 8 George Will: Obama needs GOP to approve the TPP Dana Milbank: Hillary vs. Hillary Charles Krauthammer: Netanyahu's Churchillian warning Letters to the Editor, March 7 Editorials Our View: Cheers and Jeers Our View: Take it slow on legal marijuana Our View: Small climate steps add up to big ones Our View: Drawing back the curtain on government Other Views: Brown's list of challenges is lengthy Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, March 8 Letters to the Editor, March 7 Letters to the Editor, March 6 Letters to the Editor, March 5 Letters to the Editor, March 4 Columns George Will: Obama needs GOP to approve the TPP Dana Milbank: Hillary vs. Hillary Charles Krauthammer: Netanyahu's Churchillian warning Philip Maddocks: Homeland Security is prepared to let its protection of Congress run out after this week Matthew T. Mangino: Pennsylvania officials battle over possibility of rare execution Guest Opinions GUEST OPINION: Police, community should work to prevent profiling Guest Opinion: Don't overregulate Oregon's hemp industry Guest Opinion: Predatory banking practices bilk citizens Guest Opinion: Is less education the answer? Guest Opinion: Bill would shore up legal aid funding Lifestyle Latest stories Pet of the Week: Sunday, March 8 SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL: Beware the vacation club sales presentation 'Robotic Alice' as a future caregiver Growing Gardens, Growing Communities When silence gave way to noise Food Community blog: Airy mousse rivals ease of pudding from a box Page Onorato: Please don’t take my Goo Goo Clusters away Season Stepp: Celebrate Pi Day with these tasty pie recipes Tammy Kelly: Bring back the potatoes Pantry pride Home and Garden Dear Monty: Home seller seeks to start bidding war Paul Rogers: Looking for signs of new life Home Help: Enhance your home-office experience Specialty painting adds wow to your walls Dear Monty: Home seller questions agent ethics Health Dr. Murray Feingold: Cognitive-behavioral therapy shown to help hoarders Dr. Jeff Hersh: Gallstones affect 25 percent of American women Health Watch: Get prepped for spring break HealthStyle: Marriage care and maintenance Community blog: How I Became Radical: The Power of Acceptance Hiking Biking Faith More religion events in the Rogue Valley Religion Briefs Religion briefs, Feb. 27 Religion briefs: Friday, Feb. 20 Religion News: Pope makes surprise shantytown visit Milestones and Achievements Exercise helps special-needs kids adjust to airport procedures Engagement: Workman-Wright Anniversary: Hofer New arrivals: Sunday, Feb. 8 Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Live Music in Local Clubs Darrin Wayne steps to the plate at Rising Stars Alice DiMicele plays the Unitarian Fellowship Southern Oregon University Wind Ensemble to present 'All American' Theater TMTO's 'Bye Bye Birdie' takes flight Brava! Opera presents classic Mozart and Poulenc Review: 'Fingersmith' a twisting thriller with love TMTO presents 'Bye Bye Birdie' 'Guys and Dolls' a sure bet for dazzling entertainment Music ZEPDRIX! at the Historic Ashland Armory The Bee Eaters play Headwaters Ladysmith Black Mambazo plays the Craterian Theater Live Music in Local Clubs Darrin Wayne steps to the plate at Rising Stars Community Events Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Jesse Lawson and Joe Moxley host 'Barkeeper' Third Fridays showcases local artists Southern Oregon Rod and Custom Show Dining Sakura Japanese Sushi Restaurant opens in new location Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, March 1 Great Outdoor Grill offers healthful options Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 Saigon Xich Lo Vietnamese cuisine Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines/Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Missing teen Hannah Thomas-Garner found safe ... Our View: Driving voter turnout is no sure thing for Oregon ... Gold Hill mayor rethinking city hall cameras ... Missing teen Hannah Thomas-Garner found safe ... Our View: Driving voter turnout is no sure thing for Oregon ... Gold Hill mayor rethinking city hall cameras ... REVIEW Review: 'Fingersmith' a twisting thriller with love Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 3, 2015 at 4:36 PM Updated Mar 3, 2015 at 8:27 PM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 3, 2015 at 4:36 PM Updated Mar 3, 2015 at 8:27 PM » Social News Early in "Fingersmith," young pickpocket and lady's maid Sue Trinder (Sara Bruner) is undressing young heiress Maud Lilly (Erica Sullivan) in her room at Maud's uncle's country estate. A dress comes off, petticoats fly, a crinoline, a corset, all the foofaraw in which upper-class Victorian ladies were bundled. As the scene offers glimpses of social class and the status of women in 19th century England, an unmistakable sexual current begins to flow between Sue and Maud. It grows. Time slows. For a white, protestant Englishman of means, Victorian England was a swell place. For most everybody else, not so much. The Welsh novelist Sarah Waters re-imagined this Dickensian world in detail, added some forbidden sex and a twisting plot, ran it all through a feminist lens and created "Fingersmith," a 2002 page-turner nominated for a Booker Prize. Deftly adapted into a three-hour play by Alexa Junge and tautly directed by Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch, the play debuted Sunday afternoon at the OSF's Angus Bowmer Theatre like a three-hour jolt of electricity. Sue, an orphan, has been raised in an Oliver Twist-style den of thieves by Mrs. Sucksby (Kate Mulligan), a "baby farmer," as women were called who took in babies for money and raised them in wildly varying conditions. One day she's enlisted in the plot of Mrs. Sucksby's friend Gentleman (Elijah Alexander) to seduce the wealthy Maud, then have her committed to a lunatic asylum and keep her fortune, which Gentleman will split with Sue. Maud, also an orphan, lives a life of material privilege and spiritual poverty in the secluded estate of her controlling uncle, Christopher Lilly (Peter Frechette), who is working on a mysterious dictionary that's actually a bibliography of Victorian pornography. Sue starts to have feelings for Maud, but she sticks with the scheme. After all, what could go wrong? Nothing in this world is quite what it seems, including some characters. There's an old saw that if you're in a card game and don't know who the fish is, you're the fish. “Fingersmith" takes this further. You may know who the fish is, but the pond may not be what you think. "Fingersmith" underscores this dizzying effect by ending the first act with a dandy of a cliffhanger, then switching perspectives in the second act. "Fingersmith" (slang for pickpocket) is a play without a fourth wall. The characters often speak directly to us, even in the middle of various actions. There is clever use of dramatic irony, in which we know things characters don't. Christopher Acebo's deliciously hardscrabble set, with its forced perspective of crime-infested Lant Street, handily morphs into Lilly's mansion and Mrs. Sucksby's hovel. Deborah Dryden's costumes range from the expensive finery of Maud and Gentleman to the fetid rags of the denizens of Mrs. Sucksby's and all that amazing Victorian underwear. Video and projections by Shawn Sagady flush out this world we thought we knew from a million old novels and plays and movies. There are some highly theatrical effects, including punishments and some of the abuse that passed as “treatment” for the insane. Waters has been called a feminist Dickens. That's not bad. The play has a burning sense of social injustice, and it presents its lesbian love as an existential political act of reclaiming one's identity as well as a note of sweetness in an unjust, patriarchal world. Crucially, the sexual politics emerge from the heart of the story and don't feel forced or preachy. Bruner's Sue is a smart (although illiterate), tough-as-nails young woman with a credible Cockney accent and an amazing arc that takes her from thief to conspirator to maid to lover to some other things we won't mention, other than to say the conditions in the insane asylums of the day were horrific. As Maud, Sullivan rivets the audience as she re-invents herself several times. These are bravura performances by two gifted young actors, and they project a delicious sexual chemistry to boot. Mulligan creates a memorable, three-dimensional Mrs. Sucksby, who is more than she seems. Alexander and Frechette are wonderful, deplorable villains that we, along with the sisterhood, love to hate. “Fingersmith” is a breathless entertainment with engaging characters who have everything at stake. The Victorian world may never look quite the same. Reach Medford freelance writer Bill Varble at [email protected]. By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 3, 2015 at 4:36 PM Updated Mar 3, 2015 at 8:27 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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