Another play by Carly chcurchill. We saw this in Melbourne a number of years ago and enjoyed it then. This time, the play was not as fresh and surprising (even though it was 20 years old then), but the cast was amazing.
Actually, we decided to go becuase of the cast, as so many are favourites from Shaw, Soulpepper and Stratford. And the performances were what held the play together. Anne Marie Macdonald played Eddie in the first act and Betty in the second half. As a blonde she was cmoppletely unrecognizable.
David Jansen was good as Clive, but fantastic as Cathy (the little girl).
Evan Buliungwas a great Betty and even better as Edward.
Ben Carlson loomed as Joshua and was tough and sexy as Gerry.
Megan Follows had a triple play, but was best as Lin.
Yanna MacIntosh seemed comfortable in both her roles,
Blair Williams still blends into the background.
The play is not likely to last forever, but the cast have long careers ahead.
I agree that it is a play of its time, so it may not last. Still, it is fun.
ReplyDeleteCaryl Churchill's conceit of having the characters age 25 years between acts while the setting moves forward 100 years actually works to emphasize that the attitudes in 1955 were the same as 1880 and what a change occurred in the next 25 years.
As Cathy said, it was an amazing cast and, although they weren't particularly stretched emotionally, they all threw themselves into their roles. Yanna McIntosh was so much more comfortable here than in her roles at Stratford last season. If she is at Stratford in 2010, I hope they cast her better.