Three Days of Rain
Apr. 16th, 2009 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwaevalarinI'm back from England and before I tell you about the rest of the holidays, here's my review of Monday, 6th April's performance of "Three Days of Rain" in London's Apollo Theatre.
The Play
I've read Richard Greenberg's "Three Days of Rain" and I translated parts of it together with my father and his girlfriend so I knew it quite well when I went to see it.
The first act is set in an abandoned house in Manhatten in 1995, where Walker and his sister Nan meet up with their friend Pip after the death of Walker's and Nan's father. The second act is set in the very same house 35 years earlier when the previous generation (portrayed by the same actors) inhabited it.
It's not so much the story line but the characters, their relationships and the dialogue that make this play so interesting. There's a lot of wit and rambling and interrupting each other and things left unsaid that makes the diaglgue feel genuine but never ordinary. As I said: I new the play pretty well when I went to see it but that didn't make things boring or predictable, because there's so much room for interpretation.
The Theatre
Apollo theatre is a rather small theatre in London's West End. If it didn't have the big "The Days of Rain" poster over the front entrance you could easily miss it. Inside it's rather cosy which makes it feel even more intimate. We had tickets for the Balcony. But when we arrived at the theatre we were told that the Balcony was closed that night and they'd switch our tickets to different seats. So instead of first row Balcony we got first row Lower Circle, which is usually a lot more expensive. I wasn't aware that "Balcony" is the uppermost of three balconies (Lower Circle, Upper Circle and Balcony) so in the end we got exactly the seats I wanted. Since the stage is prety high I'd say it was the best seats in the whole theatre. We were close to the stage and could see everything that was going on. Just perfect.
The Production
Apollo Theatre has a rather deep stage which gives anough room to show the difference between the abandoned loft in Act 1 and the occupied version in Act 2 without making the stage settings too dominant. It just - literally - stays in the background so it doesn't draw attention from the actual performance.
Since there's only one setting the stage is the loft apart from the very front that presents a portion of the street in front of the building. It takes you some time to realise that it's supposed to be the street to the right just moved to the front. It leaves a small crack in the illusion when one of the characters shouts down through the window to the right and another answeres from the front of the stage but ultimately it works.
They have a few effects working with fire, rain, light and sound but they use it very deliberately to support the atmosphere of the scene. The main focus is always on the actors' performance.
The Actors
You know how photos never do James McAvoy justice? How you need to see him in action because it's only then that you can see that charisma, that atmosphere that surrounds him? Well, seeing him on screen is nothing compared to seeing him live on stage. As soon as he enters the stage, he owns it. It's virtually impossible to take your eyes off him. Plus he's all over the place anyways, using every bit of the stage to underline his performance. And nailing every single line, very naturally apart from a few lines he deliberately "acts" to make them stand out. The one things that was really weird was hearing James speak with an American accent.
His characters Walker and Ned are very different and it's hard to believe that it's actually the same actor playing them.
James's Walker is very outgoing and emotional and all over the place. Bursting with energy, just at the brink of insanity. It's so much fun to watch him. Ned on the other hand is very calm and quiet. He keeps most of his thoughts and feelings to himself and even though he seems insecure he has a sort of comforting atmosphere.
Nigel Harman unfortunately didn't have that much to do in Act 2. But in Act 1 his Pip was hilarious. He doesn't really know how to act around Walker because he inherited the house Walker so desperately wanted. And on the one hand it's not Pip's fault but on the other hand part of him does feel guilty. And he doesn't want the house anyways and why did this great reunion suddenly turn into a fight? So he's just rambling and saying things that Walker get's wrong. You want t feel sorry for him because he's struggling to set things right but it's just so funny.
I read in some review how the fight between Walker and Pip was rather annoying but I have to say that it was probably my favourite part of the play. They just throw lines at each other unbelievably fast, interrupt each other and develop this amazing dynamic. It's almost like they're feeding of each other's energy. I could have watched them for hours.
Lyndsey Marshal is rather pale in Act 1. She's basically just delivering lines for the two guys. But in Act 2, when she switches from rational Nan to her mother Lina, her performance improves so much and you can clearly see why Nan tells her brother that their mother is "like him, just old." Walker and Lina share the same at-the-brink-of-insanity, bursting, emotional energy. And she speaks with a very convincing Southern American accent which unfortunately I found a little annoying but that's simply because I don't like that accent and I can hardly blame Lyndsey for that.
Fangirl Moments
After the performance I went straight to the stage door. There were about 20 people gathered there waiting for the actors. There were two guys telling us that we should leave a gap to let people through and when the actors came out they'd form a barrier and we could get autographs. And I have to say that everyone was very well behaved. When first Nigel and then James left the theatre, everyone gathered around them, of course, but no one was pushing, people would hand programmes through to Nigel and James so, I think, everyone got their autographs and pictures.
Unfortunately my camera decided to go on strike so I couldn't take that many pictures. But there will be more (and better ones) as soon as I have the pictures my father and I took with his camera:
Please do not repost these pictures or claim as your own.
So bottom line: Everyone involved did an amazing job and I had the most enjoyable night. If I had the chance, I'd go to see it another time.
The Play
I've read Richard Greenberg's "Three Days of Rain" and I translated parts of it together with my father and his girlfriend so I knew it quite well when I went to see it.
The first act is set in an abandoned house in Manhatten in 1995, where Walker and his sister Nan meet up with their friend Pip after the death of Walker's and Nan's father. The second act is set in the very same house 35 years earlier when the previous generation (portrayed by the same actors) inhabited it.
It's not so much the story line but the characters, their relationships and the dialogue that make this play so interesting. There's a lot of wit and rambling and interrupting each other and things left unsaid that makes the diaglgue feel genuine but never ordinary. As I said: I new the play pretty well when I went to see it but that didn't make things boring or predictable, because there's so much room for interpretation.
The Theatre
Apollo theatre is a rather small theatre in London's West End. If it didn't have the big "The Days of Rain" poster over the front entrance you could easily miss it. Inside it's rather cosy which makes it feel even more intimate. We had tickets for the Balcony. But when we arrived at the theatre we were told that the Balcony was closed that night and they'd switch our tickets to different seats. So instead of first row Balcony we got first row Lower Circle, which is usually a lot more expensive. I wasn't aware that "Balcony" is the uppermost of three balconies (Lower Circle, Upper Circle and Balcony) so in the end we got exactly the seats I wanted. Since the stage is prety high I'd say it was the best seats in the whole theatre. We were close to the stage and could see everything that was going on. Just perfect.
The Production
Apollo Theatre has a rather deep stage which gives anough room to show the difference between the abandoned loft in Act 1 and the occupied version in Act 2 without making the stage settings too dominant. It just - literally - stays in the background so it doesn't draw attention from the actual performance.
Since there's only one setting the stage is the loft apart from the very front that presents a portion of the street in front of the building. It takes you some time to realise that it's supposed to be the street to the right just moved to the front. It leaves a small crack in the illusion when one of the characters shouts down through the window to the right and another answeres from the front of the stage but ultimately it works.
They have a few effects working with fire, rain, light and sound but they use it very deliberately to support the atmosphere of the scene. The main focus is always on the actors' performance.
The Actors
You know how photos never do James McAvoy justice? How you need to see him in action because it's only then that you can see that charisma, that atmosphere that surrounds him? Well, seeing him on screen is nothing compared to seeing him live on stage. As soon as he enters the stage, he owns it. It's virtually impossible to take your eyes off him. Plus he's all over the place anyways, using every bit of the stage to underline his performance. And nailing every single line, very naturally apart from a few lines he deliberately "acts" to make them stand out. The one things that was really weird was hearing James speak with an American accent.
His characters Walker and Ned are very different and it's hard to believe that it's actually the same actor playing them.
James's Walker is very outgoing and emotional and all over the place. Bursting with energy, just at the brink of insanity. It's so much fun to watch him. Ned on the other hand is very calm and quiet. He keeps most of his thoughts and feelings to himself and even though he seems insecure he has a sort of comforting atmosphere.
Nigel Harman unfortunately didn't have that much to do in Act 2. But in Act 1 his Pip was hilarious. He doesn't really know how to act around Walker because he inherited the house Walker so desperately wanted. And on the one hand it's not Pip's fault but on the other hand part of him does feel guilty. And he doesn't want the house anyways and why did this great reunion suddenly turn into a fight? So he's just rambling and saying things that Walker get's wrong. You want t feel sorry for him because he's struggling to set things right but it's just so funny.
I read in some review how the fight between Walker and Pip was rather annoying but I have to say that it was probably my favourite part of the play. They just throw lines at each other unbelievably fast, interrupt each other and develop this amazing dynamic. It's almost like they're feeding of each other's energy. I could have watched them for hours.
Lyndsey Marshal is rather pale in Act 1. She's basically just delivering lines for the two guys. But in Act 2, when she switches from rational Nan to her mother Lina, her performance improves so much and you can clearly see why Nan tells her brother that their mother is "like him, just old." Walker and Lina share the same at-the-brink-of-insanity, bursting, emotional energy. And she speaks with a very convincing Southern American accent which unfortunately I found a little annoying but that's simply because I don't like that accent and I can hardly blame Lyndsey for that.
Fangirl Moments
After the performance I went straight to the stage door. There were about 20 people gathered there waiting for the actors. There were two guys telling us that we should leave a gap to let people through and when the actors came out they'd form a barrier and we could get autographs. And I have to say that everyone was very well behaved. When first Nigel and then James left the theatre, everyone gathered around them, of course, but no one was pushing, people would hand programmes through to Nigel and James so, I think, everyone got their autographs and pictures.
Unfortunately my camera decided to go on strike so I couldn't take that many pictures. But there will be more (and better ones) as soon as I have the pictures my father and I took with his camera:
Please do not repost these pictures or claim as your own.
So bottom line: Everyone involved did an amazing job and I had the most enjoyable night. If I had the chance, I'd go to see it another time.
