A Little Life - Richmond/Harold Pinter/Savoy/ Cinema

Disagree. I felt lots of empathy for Jude in the book. And I could understand his qualities that drew people to him. Just not really in the play.

Strange that I had the same problem with the characters in To Paradise. Barely recognisable as human.

What are the on stage seats like for anyone who has sat in them?

Really good. Quite comfortable seats and very up close view of everything happening (which is probably a warning in itself, idk how closely you actually want to see some of the bloodier scenes). A few moments where the actors are fully facing away, but most of the time they're side on or moving around enough that you can always see someone's face.

Saw this last night and was definitely very impacted by the performances. James Norton especially of course and Zubin Varla’s bit at the very end. I found it very difficult to assess the quality of the actual play and how I felt about its content. I didn’t dislike it at all. Obviously it’s not a fun play to watch, but I also didn’t feel moved in the same way I have for other impactful plays, the endless onslaught of torture had more of a numbing effect for probably 80% of the time. Being very neutral on the play itself I voted 4 stars primarily for the performances but if I had felt stronger about the material I could easily have seen myself going lower or up to 5.

I got a seat in Box E just the day before and would definitely recommend it if anyone has a chance to get a ticket there, it’s a steal for £35. The box seat lends itself to so much more comfort, legroom, and freedom to move around and adjust which was really nice for an almost 4 hour show. The view itself was about as good as you could expect from a box. Good proximity to the stage for a close view of course, and only the far left (stage right) was cut off. With leaning on the rail I could see like half of the kitchen counter and half of the bed where he visits Andy. Everything past that is cut off but it really never felt like it hindered the viewing experience

I saw this last night, and the trauma in this was so upsetting, I felt physically ill at points. I wouldn't call this entertainment, though it is extremely worthwhile theatre, as I feel that it shapes your views around the topics it covers in an empathetic way such that it becomes an unforgettable cultural touchstone for those issues for everyone who sees it, which will be alot of people. James Norton, Luke Thompson, Omari Douglas, Zubin Varla and Eliot Cowan are all terrific.

Some spoilers follow. . .

I haven't read the book, so I didn't know what to expect. But when it opened with four friends palling around, this was an entertaining element to the plot, as were the dramatic shifts that cause some friends to grow closer and some to drift apart. But this is the story of lifelong trauma from child abuse of the most heinous sort, and we flash back to witness enough of it such that, identifying with the characters as I was doing, I found it very hard to take.

In a way, this show reminded me of when Norton played Captain Stanhope in "Journey's End" at the Duke of York's Theatre. That show too was a story about extreme trauma (trench warfare) and coping strategies (alcohol, cigarettes) and how the best coping strategy of all was bonding with your band of brothers. Norton's performance was equally committed in that, so traumatised yet bravely hiding it from his troops. I cried buckets at the end, and that show became an unforgettable cultural touchstone for me when I think about warfare, such as what the Ukrainians must be going through, for example.

But this is much more (psychologically) traumatic, with more destructive coping strategies (self-harm such as cutting and burning), and the best strategy of all, the bond with his band of brothers is mostly fractured and tragic, because Norton's Jude is so damaged he can't really let them in.

I honestly don't know how Elliot Cowan is going to stomach the places he has to go, night after night for months, because all three characters he plays are the worst of the worst, each in subtly different ways. I suppose, like Norton, he's just going to have to adopt some Brechtian internal distance from the material.

Personally, I wished for some Brechtian distance at times. After 3 hours and 40 minutes of gradually building trauma, I was thankful to escape, and resolved never to read the book and never to see the play again, no matter what star is cast.

Once though was worth it. I won't ever forget this, and if I see something in the news about self-harm or about abuse, I'll be more empathetic.

4 stars from me. :0

If would be a tremendous sacrifice, but I am available post-performance each day to comfort Mr. Norton as he may require

Are the reviews for ALL appearing at the weekend as it's strange that no reviews have surfaced.

I believe last night was a Gala performance, not a press night so press night must be tonight or tomorrow.

Ah, it seems Mr Norton doesn’t need comforting according to this interview, though that’s probably the adrenaline of the performance: www.standard.co.uk/news/london/james-norton-a-little-life-west-end-nervous-singing-b1071365.html

Bless him though - being more nervous about the singing than the nudity.

Any ideas when the savoy stage seats may be on sale?