A review of Grace Pervades at Theatre Royal Haymarket, where to begin… Oh! I know, we had the best seats in the house, and let me tell you about it. Sitting in the nose bleeds with the most uncomfortable seats in the world was something I’ll never forget. Okay, but on a more serious note, I am thankful to Shawn Irish for giving me a premise of what the play was supposed to be about, because as a non-theatre major, I was very confused after the first act. After the brief analysis of what I had just witnessed, all the puzzle pieces of missing information made the second act much more enjoyable.
The acting in this play was phenomenal compared to the other plays we have seen, not to dim their light of course. Lord Voldemort, I mean Henry Irving, as one of the most famous stage actors, was one to be remembered. I was fangirling over his performance in person. His reenactment of Irving’s life and relationship with Ellen Terry was interesting to analyze with their chemistry and shared obsession with theatre. Irving’s love and obsession for the theatre was greater than his love for anything, his life was consumed by it. Taking a look into how he lived as one of the great’s of the 19th century was awesome.
Looking into the costumes that the play had for their actors, their dresses, suits, and various outfits that they wore were so intricate and looked as if they were actually from this timeline. I did enjoy this play after I knew the premise, thanks Shawn, but I did believe it to be slower paced and harder to keep up with if you were not informed of the history beforehand. Overall, I had a great time at this play, besides the seats. End scene and special thanks to Lord Voldemort, I mean, Henry Irving played by Ralph Fiennes.
Theatre in London U of A 