Hi! It is currently 9:40am London time and my legs are sore, my back is sore, and my brain is sore. Yesterday was a very long yet information filled day. We went to the Colonizer Muse- I mean the British Museum, and it was full of so much historical artifacts! If I had to pick a favorite exhibit, it would have to be the Japan or Egyptian sections. No words can describe how it feels to stand next to an object that was carved and created thousands of years ago. While it is such an indescribable feeling but there was also a sense of sadness and discomfort, at least for me. These objects were often bought or given to the British, but they were also often stolen and were refused back to the rightful owners. Exploring the museum with this thought in the back of my mind added perspective I hope that most have.
Cori and I ventured off on our own once we finished our British Museum adventure. All we knew was that we wanted to get to Oliver’s Falafel (the BEST place to get a Falafel in London, trust!) and that was the only plan. We walked and walked, and oh, we walked some more. We got our falafel fix and then decided we should get on the tube and get off on a stop we have not taken yet. We ended up at St James’ Park. It was beautiful, wild flowers a plenty, and we got gross coffee and yummy gelato! It was a much needed experience. I have been wanting to just chaotically explore London very desperately and this filled some of that!
Anyway, enough about me yapping about colonizers and exploring London! Let us move onto the real star of this specific blog: Long Day’s Journey Into Night. We saw this show at the Wyndham Theatre, which is a gorgeous space! We sat at the tippy top, aka the Grand Circle. The view was not particularly bad, but my eyes were terribly dry and add contacts to that mix? I could hardly see the actors facial expressions. As someone who sees shows mostly through an actor lens, this was disappointing for me because of the fact that I could not see very well.
Let us dive a little deeper into what I saw.
Brian Cox, who played James Tyrone, gave a great performance. He felt the most connected and in the moment of the bunch. Louisa Harland as Cathleen provided the much needed comedic relief throughout the play. This story follows a family as they ALL grapple with addiction. This is a story I can relate to in my family as I have had family members pass away and currently still struggle with similar stories to those in this story. It is heavy, emotional, and a vicious cycle we see take place over the course of three hours. Yes, I said three hours, including a twenty minute interval. A majority of the focus is put onto the mother, Patricia Clarkson as Mary, whose addiction is to morphine. She was prescribed morphine for pain after childbirth of her son Edmund, and has struggled ever since. This portrayal of Mary felt very monotone, especially because there was no clear change in tone, pitch, and volume from her being sober at the top of the show to when she is high again. How much of this was actors interpretation and directors influence? I am not sure.
There were moments where everyone felt cohesive and the story felt real and palpable for me, but a majority of the time there was a general sense of disconnect. The set did not make sense to me and excluded quite a bit from the play itself, including the lighting. It was dimly lit until we were nearly blinded at the end when Mary entered again. The sound felt off a majority of the time, including when I could actually hear the underscore. When reading the script itself, it felt very film and cinematic, so to see that not translate as well to the stage was a little disappointing for me.
Overall, would I recommend this show for someone to see? Sure. I think the director, Jeremy Herrin, could have told a closer vision to the script itself and not have made it feel so moody, but it was worth the watch and to see a version of the script up on the stage. I do feel bad for those that have not had a chance to read the script itself and instead saw this performance and lost all of the power it held through the characters. Herrin could have told a more cohesive story when guiding the actors on the stage, but maybe it was just an off night when we were there.
Ta ta…for now.
Theatre in London U of A 