Despite the terribly uncomfortable seats in the upper circle of the Royal Haymarket Theatre, David Hare’s Grace Pervades was a brilliant piece. I will admit, in order to get it out of the way, there were times in which the play dragged. It could very well have been the stiff seats getting to me as well. However, I believe that these point in the play were very human moments. The realistic nature portrayed in the characters by the actors was humbling to say the least. Seeing a show specifically about theatre and acting was touching on a very personal level. I felt all of the things that the characters said very deeply; their love for acting, their need to perfect, a sense of getting lost within that need. All of these aspects were familiar. They were such beautiful and accurate depictions of things that I have felt while in a theatre environment. Shawn Irish referring to it as “a love letter to the theatre” feels very fitting.
I could write a whole second post about Ralph Fiennes alone. He completely took over the space with his presence. There were many other actors on that stage making wonderful choices and fully embodying their characters, and yet Fiennes still stood out. His character choices were strong consistently throughout the show. Fiennes was simply captivating to watch. I will be going through to find his other roles in film.
The lighting in this show particularly stood out to me. There was such a sense of isolation in numerous moments. Moments with characters downstage with only their upper half lit. The rest of the stage was absolute darkness. Those stood out to me so strongly. The lighting transitions were also done so well. They all had such beautiful pacing and left a little glow around the actors.
This show stuck with me quite a bit because of its theatrical topics as well as the wonderful acting. It was all so well done, and I have never once seen a show where technicians were brought out for bows. That in particular stood out to me as well. If I could watch it all over again, I absolutely would.
Theatre in London U of A 