3,321 posts
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Post by david on Jul 16, 2022 23:50:08 GMT
I was at tonight’s preview performance and I have to say I really enjoyed this (despite the very warm auditorium). Running at around 2.5 hrs tonight, this show is a 25th anniversary revival from the NT’s original production.
Exploring the themes of truth, love and romance amongst the 4 characters and their intertwining relationships, 4 engaging performances from Jack Farthing (Jack), Ella Hunt (Alice), Nina Toussaint-White (Anna) and Sam Troughton (Larry). For me it was Sam T that was the standout tonight with a nice mix of comedy (the online chat room scene between Jack and Larry certainly gave us plenty of laughs) and real emotional depth as the relationships are explored.
A very minimal set with few benches and desks for the majority of the play are used in this production to evoke locations rather than provide an real physical detail to set scenes. Despite the lack of any real set, we do get some wonderful musical accompaniment from Radhika Aggrawal and Arun Ghash alongside some singing from cast member Ella Hunt to help move the plot forward.
As a nice inclusion in this production, 4 additional cast members from the Lyric’s SPRINGBOARD training programme are used as a chorus and got a really warm reception at the end of the show.
There was a nice blend of comedy, tragedy and melodrama alongside some very emotionally brutal and sexually explicit language.
Overall, a very good piece of theatre was worth the trip out to Hammersmith.
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1,348 posts
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Post by tmesis on Jul 30, 2022 17:35:18 GMT
I expected to enjoy this much more than I did. Agree that Sam Troughton was the stand out but then he has the best lines. I don’t think the play has aged well and frankly all the characters were deeply annoying and I didn’t really have any empathy for any of them.
I found the musicians* and ‘extras’ on stage distracting and pointless.
*some lovely clarinet playing at the end.
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Post by alessia on Jul 30, 2022 18:43:43 GMT
I really enjoyed this today. I don't think it needed the background chorus/actors but other than this detail, I have no negative criticism of either the production, the play or the acting. I think the play is definitely still relevant- as an exploration of relationships and examples of toxic masculinity. I found myself nodding a few times in agreement, one of them being the exchange between the two women in the second act, when they talk about baggage people bring with them in new relationships. It was nice to see Jack Farthing in something so different from Poldark (sorry Jack, I have not seen you in anything else before today...) and special mention to Sam Troughton as it has already been noted. Very nice that the Lyric was much busier this afternoon- it was depressing to see so many empty seats at my last two visits.
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4,214 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Jul 30, 2022 19:27:48 GMT
I saw a production of this play many years ago and remember not enjoying it at all.
I saw the film and didn't enjoy that either.
I guess the story just isn't for me. Not everything is.
I am not in a position to comment on this current production however given my past experiences, I'm not in a huge rush to see it.
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195 posts
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Post by tal on Jul 30, 2022 21:36:25 GMT
Always loved the film, but today was my first time watching the play. I had a great time and really enjoyed revisiting the story I like so much on stage. It seems they changed very little of the text when they adapted this into film, and yet the endings are quite different. Seeing the play today I felt the original ending works better for me.
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548 posts
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Post by drmaplewood on Aug 1, 2022 23:03:18 GMT
Enjoyed this overall, much better than the Donmar production I saw some years ago. Agree the chorus don’t really add much and the breaking into various 90s indie hits seemed pointless. But worth the trip west, even if it was stiflingly hot.
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1,500 posts
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Post by Steve on Aug 3, 2022 17:33:04 GMT
Saw the matinee, and loved it, to the extent that one can love seeing the absolute worst and most selfish impulses of men represented on stage lol! Some spoilers follow. . . I agree with the comment above that this is more effective than the recent Donmar version, principally because it strips the characters of artifice (with the exception of the one character who is all about artifice). In the Donmar version, the characters pretended to be nice, while under the surface they were terrible. Here they don't bother pretending, and the result is a far more impactful and earthy exploration of what they are all up to and about. Jack Farthing's writer, Dan, acts as close to Nietzsche's concept of an Ubermensch as a character can, simply taking what he wants from the other three characters, just because. It's a horrible but strangely compelling view of alpha male toxicity, and is true to the core of Marber's character. (I remember Oliver Chris layering a massive veneer of guile and charm over this character at the Donmar to disguise his basic savagery, which was convincing but left the audience comfortably numb). This in turn allows Sam Troughton, who specialises in relatable everymen (eg falling in love in "Beginning" at the National, or losing the war of workplace survival in Clare Lizzimore's own incredible and equally savage "Bull" at the Young Vic) to show the cold emotional brutality an everyman, like his character, Larry, is capable of wreaking when his ego is under attack from a supposed Ubermensch. Because Troughton's Larry is so grounded in ordinary everyday recognisable mannerisms, the callous acting out of his toxic rage is absolutely and utterly compelling! By the end of the show, he is every bit the modern day Heathcliff (and I mean the bad Heathcliff from the second half of the novel lol). Unlike the men, Marber's women are not so toxic. But they do want what they want, and Nina Toussaint-White's Anna's frank admission of her own selfishness, inflicting collateral damage, albeit unintentionally, comes across as regal, refreshingly honest and heartbreaking. If Troughton's turn as Larry is unforgettable, so is Ella Hunt's as Alice, the one character who embraces artifice, as escape from savagery, with every fibre of her being. Lizzimore makes the wonderful choice of utilising Hunt's singing skills (she could have been the lead singer of Portishead, or at a push, London Grammar) and this resort to the fantasy world of music frames the character, as well as providing some brief respite for the audience from Marber's cruelty. Hunt makes an astonishing professional stage debut, her sing song voice and grinning playfulness constantly trying to establish some fictional amelioration from the emotional brutality surrounding her. By the time this ended, I was mightily impressed, with the only caveat that I was not impressed with these women's taste in men. That said, the clichéd phrase "treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen" would not exist if there were no women to fall for it! I enjoyed this twenty fifth anniversary production very much, although it didn't leave me feeling uplifted lol. 4 and a half stars from me.  |
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Post by Forrest on Aug 5, 2022 8:43:38 GMT
I seem to be the only one who really enjoyed the production for all its details except for the acting. Somehow, to me, Farthing lacked chemistry with the others and his delivery felt stiff, and Toussaint-White was just good, but not great. Both of them seemed a bit burdened by the text, and not really relaxed into it. Ella Hunt was a standout for me, and she and Troughton were still enough to have made it highly enjoyable, though. I do however agree with Steve's brilliant insight that all their characters are true to themselves, which makes the production really interesting: they illustrate the side to us that makes us uncomfortable and that in turn makes for a compelling viewing.
I liked the staging, the music (the moment the Talk Talk song came on, I was sold!), the design... I did wonder a little why they hadn't brought it into the 21st century a bit more (the choice to keep the chunky phones and CD players seemed a bit... strange), but I guess that's a choice as good as any other, really, and it doesn't substantially add to or subtract from the overall success of the production, it just left me a bit surprised. The text itself is a marvel: every line seems to be important! (I did miss the "Fish, you gotta respect them." line though, delivered so amazingly by Clive Owen in the film. I guess that was a Hollywood addition?!)
Overall, it was an enjoyable evening at the theatre, and I am almost tempted to go see it again, just to see if I was a bit too "harsh" on the actors the first time around.
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1,867 posts
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Post by Dave B on Aug 10, 2022 15:41:22 GMT
Just pulling over my post from the random reviews a short while ago.
Closer - Lyric Hammersmith
Given the flaws or indeed the intent of the play, Alice and Dan are pretty wafer thin and so the performances sometimes suffer as a result. Sam Troughton as Larry with the most meat throughout is quite immense, starts slow and then really builds up. Nina Toussaint-White is equally strong as Anna and some of their conflict really sparks on stage. Very funny, clearly a number of people in the audience not aware what they were in for and the early (archaic) online sex scene combined with some loud reactions to lines lead to a few more empty seats after the interval. Still, enjoyed this one a lot.
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