I don’t know how to feel about this show.
I think reading the play before watching this interpretation of it, made it really underwhelming.
I was excited to see this production because of how many well-known actors were in it. This play has very complicated characters, and it’s a really hard story to tell. Which is why this thought occurred to me. “If there are well-known actors, then the production has to be of high quality acting”. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. One of the actors performance was not cutting it for me. Daryl McCormack, who played Jaime in the show, was at one level the whole time. It was so underwhelming. He would talk and it sounded like he was trying harder to hide his accent. But on the other hand, I thought the performance of everyone else was good! I just did not think their acting was in sync with each other.
This production has been the first play were the set is permanent, with no moving set pieces or walls of any kind. From my high seating, I could only see where most of the action took place. I had to use my imagination as to what was beyond. From what I could see, the walls were completely bare. I know this had to be a choice, since in the story it mentions how the house isn’t a home, and it never was. I understood why they took that direction. What I was disappointed scenically was the lack of fog. I was told by some of my peers, that a bit of fog appeared on top of the piano. But I could not see that far, and didn’t notice any fog. While reading this play, the fog is such an important metaphor and a key element of this show.
Without the fog, the production just didn’t hit like I imagined.
I do have to admit that this show was the only one that made me really think beyond the story. All the other shows we’ve watched that I have really enjoyed, I have loved because of the acting and the set design. I took in the story but it didn’t move me in too many ways. I mention how this show, had been the only show with a set that doesn’t move. It sat still. Usually when I begin to nod off during a show, I look at the set design and think about how well the design choices work or how amazing a transition was. I could not do that with this production. Just like these characters, I was stuck having to listen to all their thoughts. When I couldn’t understand or bare to hear what they were speaking, I was left with my own thoughts. That was the most surprising thing to happen to me while watching this performance. The topics and events I tried so hard to forget about, were making their way into my thoughts. About family, my dreams, my failures, my fears. Every show we have watched so far has never sat so still. It was always moving, from one transition into the next. One light cue to another. I didn’t have time to think about anything else. Which is why I became so confused towards my feelings on this production. On the one hand, I didn’t quite enjoy all the acting and was never fully in the world of the play. But on the other, it has been the only show who’s substance forced me to look into myself and my feelings. Isn’t that insane. How a production can be so underwhelming, but unconsciously make you think about the topics it brings up. About family, isolation, jealousy, loneliness, complicated situations.
And on that sad note, I have to go!
Farewell Friends!
Theatre in London U of A 