Reader Reviews
The Distance from Here (Almeida at King's Cross, Inner London)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Congratulations yet again to the Almeida for a thrilling production. A chilling, beautifully written play, exceptionally impressive design and wonderful acting. The Almeida should be encouraged to do more work by such an impressive writer. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 01 Jun 02 |
| I have to say that this play is not for everyone! Saying that I though it was great. The story line seems quite basic, although this is because the play is supposed to just skim across brief moments in the character lives, the lack of detail allows the viewer to make up their own decisions of who these people are. The set is fantastic, a minimalist approach, with a cinematic feel, allowing the play to be shown in a ‘widescreen’ format. The center of the stage revolves depending on the scene, these revolves also double as a ‘cinematic wipe’ and is used to great effect. The cast are excellent. The three main male characters (Mark Webber, Jason Ritter, Enrico Colantoni) all bring depth to their characters. The three main female characters are equally as good (Amy Ryan, Liesel Matthews, Ana Reeder) and just as convincing. Also worth a mention would be the very strange pet shop employee (Alan Sayce) The play itself was ultimately dark and very depressing, although it did contain a surprising amount of humor. As a whole I had a very enjoyable evening, and will know doubt be seeing it again in Bath! - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 21 May 02 |
| Didn't think much of the play as it didn't really seem to be saying anything, informing us at all, though there was a little bit of suspense. Felt the actors did a good job with bad material. The characters were a bunch of people one would really not want to know and the ridiculous amount of smoking along with Darryl's incredibly racist views really didn’t help. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 13 May 02 |
| Almeida triumphs again with this new play from LaBute. Distance from here is a brilliant study of american white low life. A play not to be missed by thinking play goers! - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 11 May 02 |
| Another LaBute masterpiece! Dark and intense passions lie within the low whites of America. Comparing the humans to the simians. Brutal, harsh, sad sometimes funny. Great performing cast lead superbly by Mark Webber. A great night out. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 10 May 02 |
| Before buying your ticket, check your record collection. If you find more than one Leonard Cohen record or if your Niel Young CDs are rarely in their boxes, get out your credit card. The Distance From Here is pretty typical LaBute. A bunch of depressing characters living in the margins and having thoroughly crap lives. As with most LaBute things I've seen (plays and films) the characters are all so unpleasant that it is impossible to engage with them or feel anything for their plight. Despite this it is well written and well acted for which it deserves some credit and, as with everything at the Almeida the staging is very strong. BUT, I hated it. Keep your distance from there. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 08 May 02 |
| Neil Labute latest play, The Distance From Here, is about the bleak life of US teenagers and their disrupted family. One may ask if there is still a need and a space for one more such play/film or “whatever” creation. It is not well written, not well acted and not well directed. If the spirit of a Tennessee Williams or a Mark Ravenhill can be sensed here and then, Neil Labute should learn from these writers the Arts of Bleakness. All along, I have been wondering if something was really going to happen and when something eventually happened, it was too much and too late. The fate of Ravenhill’s baby in “Handbag” is pathetically echoed in Labute’s play. Likewise, the incestuous attractions between the members of this oddly assembled American family are a weak reminiscence of Williams’s Streetcar (not to mention Pinter). Unfortunately, if the situations share some similarities, the emotion is missing. Labute has tried in vain to update the story with a stepfather who fought in Kuwait (The war in Afghanistan obviously occurred after the play was written). That is not enough to give intensity or relevance to the play or depth to its characters. David Leveaux’s direction is minimal and clichéd. The acting is contrived and some players have obviously been cast for or in the wrong role. Only Jason Ritter (Tim) seems to be able to express a real emotion and I believe the play would have been better if his role would have been swap over with those of Darrell (Mark Webber). The feeling that “those actors up there could hypnotize me –sometimes only for a few moment- and they could make me lose myself for a bit “ as writes Labute in the programme, is simply not there. I never felt close to the personages whose characterisation was hammered. Everything was said, thrown at you from the very first minute of their first appearance on stage. A disappointing stage too. The Almeida is renowned for the quality of its sets, but here, the design is reduced to a few greenish walls and a few and cheap accessories. The feeling is one of an empty Prada boutique. The Distance From Here keeps its audience at a good distance from its actor and its subject. A subject that has been explored and dealt with at length and more cleverly on stage and on films (Kids, Clerks). An unsatisfactory evening. - USER: Whatsonstage.com | 08 May 02 |
