Grace Pervades starring Ralph Fiennes at the Theatre Royal Haymarket was a strong production with bright highlights. While the seats in the back of the theatre made my back feel as though I was as old as the theatre itself, I would recommend this production to appreciators of the art of theatre.
The plot of the show follows Henry Irving, a famous creative director and actor at the Lyceum theatre. It explores his relationship with Ellen Terry and their working relationship, as well as the stories of her children and how they navigated the world as theatre artists. While the play could be enjoyed by anyone, it is definitely made for theatre artists and practitioners. The play explores the late 19th and early 20th century as the art of acting changed to a more realistic approach. This lends itself to many references that require prior knowledge to have a deeper understanding of the play. It doesn’t detract from the play, but the play definitely reads better if you have an understanding of the world of the show. This being said, as someone with this prior knowledge, I thoroughly enjoyed the play about theatre.
Ralph Fiennes delivers a powerhouse performance in the role of Henry Irving. While the performances across the board were impressive, Ralph Fiennes was the definite standout. He brought such a deep level of textual knowledge to the performance. When watching him I was fully immersed in the story, and he was magnetic. He portrayed the awkward and passionate artist with a level of humanity that made me empathize with his situation. I was able to see a part of myself in the performance. His performance asked the question of the limits of how far one goes for their work, and as an aspiring performer, this production made me think about the work in a personal way.
While the story and performances were both top notch, the design is what really made this production stand out. The set was very minimal, with there being a square stage and simple backdrop, but it worked perfectly for the production. Additional set pieces were added in each scene as needed, but the look always stayed minimal and open. There was a beautiful set change in one scene when it was showing a production of Hamlet that Ellen’s son Edward was producing. The set consisted of three marble columns and two marble chairs in the middle. This complete transformation of the set was an inspiring touch to the production.
In addition to the scenery, the lighting of the production was truly gorgeous. I have been noticing that in general in the UK, the shows use less light than shows in the United States. This rang true for Grace Pervades, but they did it in a really beautiful way. There were scenes throughout the show in which characters would go downstage to deliver exposition. In a show in the United States they would most likely put a front spotlight on that person’s face to light them, but in the production they used a lot more angled light and side light to illuminate the actress. This created unique shapes and shafts of light that drew the eye across the space in a unique way that isn’t achieved with a simple follow spot. These themes of unique lighting, and heavy use of side light continued throughout the production. It created such an interesting visual effect that needs to be experienced by a live viewer. It felt as though the lights were their own character in this production. I would highly recommend this production to anyone who wants a thought provoking piece of theatre.
- Thatcher
Theatre in London U of A 