My fourth show in three days - I'm turning into Mark Shenton! In truth, the prospect of Eugene O'Neill's long-winded gloom did not fill me with joy, but I did manage to avoid nodding off, unlike Richard E. Grant, although he could have been resting his eyes. The play creaks like the old coal barge it is set on, full of cliches like the hoary old sea dog, the woman "done wrong to" and even an anti-hero sent to rescue her from a life of prostitution. However, Rob Ashford has managed to create something captivating and even thrilling from these unpromising ingredients. Particular credit should go to Paul Wills who uses a stage that tilts to suggest a dockside bar, the deck of a barge at sea and a below-deck cabin. He is also responsible for a magnificent storm scene which sees Jude Law emerge from the depths. Despite some unintentionally amusing accents the central performances of Law, Ruth Wilson and David Hayman are excellent. Wilson has a face that conveys bruised hurt without her needing to say a word and from such close proximity there is a palpable sense of violence and danger in Law's Irish stoker. I still think O'Neill is hard work and possibly over-rated but Ashford's superb production came close to convincing me otherwise. - David Baxter
23 Sep 11
Nothing wrong with Ruth Wilson's accent or indeed any aspect of her performance. She delivers a quite incredible portrayal of Anna, a strong front yet deeply vulnerable. Jude Law does well too even if his Irish accent seemed to lurch from Ireland to Jamaica rather alot. David Hayman was excellent, a heartfelt performance as Anna's father. The set is stunning. A wonderful, compelling evening of theatre - Paul Wallis
02 Sep 11
Ignore the review I wrote below about another play entirely - yet, ghost like, it still appears to stalk the dusty corridors of WOS's website and appear inappropriately? Jude Law was at the top of his form both physically and emotionally as Mat, a rough, tough Irish seaman. Ruth Wilson's Anna was his perfect match in performance and David Hayman, as father Chris, even with his hard to take Swedish chef's accent, eventually grew on me as he, too, grew into the part. The only weak link was Jenny Galloway seemed miscast as Marthy (Chris' somewhat butch love interest) but fortunately that part is very small. It's a play that takes a while to get going but when it does, my god, hang on to your hats. The staging is sensational which adds to the power of the performance. A sell-out, no doubt because of Mr Law, but a play still well worth waiting in-line for to get a return. Sensational. - rds.
31 Aug 11
If it wasn't for the plodding focus on an antiquated value system in the last half hour, and Ruth Wilson's variable accent, I'd give this 5 stars. The production is eerie, tilting the stage to reflect a barge on water, flashing thunder, rain and lightning, and using sound effects and music to suggest the sea's capriciousness. Essentially, a three hander, all prongs of the triangle connect together powerfully. David Hayman is jubilant, soused, superstitious, stubborn, wonderful really. Ruth Wilson is a soft centre in a hard shell, furtive squirrel eyes over bee stung lips, she's the heart of the play and emotionally captures a lost soul's longing for redemption. But it is Jude Law who is the revelation. This really is one of the performances of the year by any actor. Law was a heartfelt yet tepid Hamlet, overshadowed by David Tennant's sheer sparkle in a year filled with Hamlets. But here, Law's entrance at the height of a storm sizzles with charge, an elecricity that crackles through the course of the production, as Law surges larger than life, almost, his rippling muscular body just one dimension of a bristling powerful explosion of a character, violent, charming, forceful, yearning, as changeable and as powerful as the Old Devil Sea itself, that Hayman's character so reveres. - Steve
24 Aug 11
The US gave us three great playwrights in the 20th century and Eugene O’Neill was one of them. I’ve been lucky enough to see 10 of his plays, but this one has evaded me. So a chance to see it in a favourite theatre with a favourite actress. Treat watch!
O’Neill was apparently a seaman, and his insight into this world shows. We’re in the bar of an East Coast port with Swedish bargeman Chris and his woman Mathy. At first I wasn’t convinced by David Hayman (an actor who, surprisingly, I’ve never seen on stage before), largely because of his odd accent, but after the play settled, I got there. Jenny Galloway was, as always, excellent as Marthy. When Chris’ long lost daughter turns up, her female intuition means she susses her profession – a prostitute – quick as a flash. Ruth Wilson in the title role is mesmerizing, with a defensive brashness masking her vulnerability. She is at times delicate and at times hard, prowls the stage with a sexiness and excitement that means you just can’t take your eyes off her. This is her finest performance so far, but I suspect there’s a lot more to come. A Dame in waiting!
We move to sea as a storm erupts, the stage becomes a barge and rises, and we get one of the most exciting stage entrances I’ve ever witnessed as Irish seaman Mat climbs a rope and boards the barge drenched and half-naked. I’ve liked the handful of Jude Law’s performances I’ve seen before, but this is on another level altogether. It’s extraordinarily physical as he picks up Chris like he was a sack of flour, throws an empty crate at a wall to see it shatter and lifts a bed on which Anna lies as if it were a bag of shopping. He acts with every inch of his body, looking every bit the seaman – at home in working clothes but clumsy in a suit, the pupils of his eyes piercing when he’s angry.
The balance of the play explores the relationship between Anna, the dad who deserted her and the man she falls for (and the relationship between the two men) as her profession is revealed. The chemistry between the three actors is terrific and the triangle completely believable and compelling. The proximity and intimacy of the Donmar again works to bring you right in to the minds of the characters and the heart of their story. Wonderful.
For a choreographer, Rob Ashford is turning into one hell of a director. This equals his Streetcar, also here, for impeccable staging. Paul Wills design and Howard Harrison’s lighting create the bar, barge at sea and barge interior superbly with next to no props. The stage tilt (a first at the Donmar?) is an inspired ides.
There have been many great evenings at the Donmar and this is up there with the best of them. I’d like to say ‘book now’ but I’m afraid you’ve missed the boat, as it were.
- Gareth James
