Look Back in Anger



Photo by Joan Marcus

On Saturday, I went to see the play, Look Back in Anger by John Osbourne at the Roundabout Theater. Sam Gold directs Adam Driver as Cliff, Charlotte Parry as Helena, Sarah Goldberg as Alison Porter and Matthew Rhys as Jimmy Porter.

Matthew Rhys as Jimmy rages across the stage, sounding off his working class frustrations on his temperate upper-crust wife Alison, who does not fight back, who plays games to make him forget his anger. The relationship is volatile and can hardly be sustained and when Alison’s friend Helena comes to visit, Alison quickly finds a way out. This crucial point is never fully realized for me. Alison just goes along and leaves but the moment when she makes up her mind is never properly shaped. It felt like Helena took away that choice from her.

Gold made a choice to pull some passages from Jimmy’s speeches regarding the socio-economics of the time (post-war London). I think he wanted to create the love relationship as the central figure. Without those themes it does lack some of the reasoning behind Jimmy’s caustic speeches. Matthew Rhys as Jimmy was scathing and I couldn’t look away as he pushed and pulled every other character within his sphere. Jimmy was unfulfilled at the dead-end-ness of his life and there was nothing to shake him out of his anger. And as much as he loved Alison, he raged against her most of all because he knew down to his bones that he would lose her eventually. No one could love another with so much cruelty and not expect a departure. I loved his performance. I read the NY Times review about how he didn’t go far enough and I have to disagree. To make it bigger would have hardly given the audience a chance to sympathize with Jimmy when Alison finally leaves..

When Alison returns and Jimmy and Alison have their moment together, it crushed the air out of my lungs from the raw impact of that scene between them. Sarah Goldberg was genius in that scene with Rhys, as she played a nuanced, vulnerable performance.

It’s a tough play but at the end of it…I was reminded why I love theater so much.


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

It’s a cold, bright day in NYC and the last couple of weeks have been hectic. Hence, the lack of updates on this blog about the novel. Working on it, little bit at a time but not making substantial headway at the moment. Ergh. But I’m not freaking out (yet!) Operative word being yet.

I have a list of excuses starting from my kitty being sick last week (and getting very little sleep), to a rebounding migraine that lasted days and ending with taking on a project helping out friends with writing copy. So I’ve been a bit scattered and have had a hard time sitting down and being quiet long enough to hear what comes next in my story. So there it is.

It’s Friday and it’s a good night to go to the gym for a swim.
Saturday, I’m going to go see the play, Look Back in Anger.
Sunday, SuperBowl game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.
I’ll have time to work on my novel and go to the gym. Now let’s see if I can stick with that plan. As soon as I wrote that last line…this line popped into my head, “We plan, God laughs.”
Go Giants!!

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard

Last Friday I went to see Athol Fugard's play, The Road to Mecca at the Roundabout Theater. Although the cast was stellar…I have to say that the piece was over-written. The story could have unfolded without so much exposition. I was drowning in words. I held up pretty well in the first (hour-long) act, primly perched on my seat, listening to the conflicts that were unfolding for the two main characters (Miss Helen and Elsa Barlow). I was interested, invested, and following along. But once the intermission came up, I realized I didn’t quite understand the relationship between the characters until deep into the second act.

Rosemary Harris (Miss Helen) had this gorgeous monologue halfway through the second act but it went on way too long and when it was over, I thought the play was close to finished…only to learn that it would go on for another 25 minutes. It was a painful 25 minutes because the exposition continued and new information was introduced. From that point on, every five minutes, I thought the play was winding down only for more words, more story and I was overcome with an attack of the giggles. In this instance, I was really glad I was in the nosebleed seats because I couldn’t stop laughing. I kept asking out loud, “Is it over yet?” only for the actors to go into another monologue.

The acting was superb. The stage design and lighting were beautiful. I just wish some of the monologues were tighter. I think the next play I want to go see is Look Back in Anger by John Osborne. It’s been in previews this past month and it opens on Thursday night. Hmmm. We shall see.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2012 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.