Synopsis Three brothers - a businessman, a teacher and a lawyer turned artist - return home to the coal mining community of their childhood for their parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Each of them has been transformed, through a university education and professional success. A taut, vivid story, this is one of the great social plays of the 1960s, depicting the tensions between a father and his sons who no longer share the language to talk to one another.
Pirates of the Caribbean screen star Orlando Bloom made his highly anticipated professional stage debut last night (16 July 2007, previews from 5 July) in the West End revival of David Storey’s In Celebration at the Duke of York’s Theatre. The production plays a limited season through to 15 September.
In David Storey’s play, which premiered at the Royal Court in 1969, Bloom plays Steven, the youngest of three brothers who return home to their Northern roots for their parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Although they’ve returned to celebrate, the complexities of family life and long-held grievances make a decent party unlikely. Each of the brothers has been transformed, through a university education and professional success.
Steven’s brothers Andrew and Colin are played by Paul Hilton and Gareth Farr, his parents Mr and Mrs Shaw by Tim Healy and Dearbhla Molloy, and the neighbours by Lynda Baron and Ciaran McIntyre. The production is presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, Michael Edwards and Carole Winter, and Tulchin/Bartner Productions.
While some first night critics were underwhelmed by Bloom’s stage debut, it was as much due to his chosen role – as the largely silent, introverted brother – as his performance. The choice of play, viewed as something of a period piece, was also questioned and opinions as to the evening’s entertainment overall ranging from something “richly satisfying” to something “you’d only recommend … to your worse enemy”. There were good notices for Bloom’s co-stars Paul Hilton, Tim Healy and Dearbhla Molloy, although the highest praise was reserved for the show’s ever-prolific producer Sonia Friedman, hailed by one critic as “our last, serious hope of keeping straight plays alive in a West End deluged by musicals”.
Michael Coveney on Whatsonstage.com (two stars) -“ In making his stage debut as the youngest of three brothers returning home to Yorkshire for their parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary, Orlando Bloom exhibits a faultless modesty. His character Steven, a discouraged teacher, stuttering novelist and father of four, is a silent, moody introvert. He says very little and rarely commands the stage. He succumbs to a little light weeping, but does that in the safety of the darkness…Tim Healy’s Mr Shaw, 50 years down the mine and smoking like a trooper, is a bull-like comedy turn in his white vest and bulging eyes, while Dearbhla Molloy as his wistfully elegant wife suggests a world elsewhere but not a reason for having married the old brute in the first place…Lez Brotherston’s detailed sitting room design has a mysteriously under-used and under-lit upper level. The play is a trial for the whole family and, in these circumstances, the audience as well.”
Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard -“ Producer Sonia Friedman - our last, serious hope of keeping straight plays alive in a West End deluged by musicals - dares greatly by reviving this Sixties slice of northern, working class drama … The test will be to see whether new-generation theatre audiences will be tempted both by Orlando Bloom, whose first shot at stage acting is a bit of a miss, and the chance of learning some invaluable social history, theatrically conveyed … In Celebration by neglected Royal Court favourite David Storey, harks back to the social-realist school of novelists, dramatists and film directors who brought grimy, industrial England into national view … Bloom's troubled, taciturn Steven is sometimes obliged to squat: Anna Mackmin's production needs more chairs and far greater charges of passion and engagement, particularly in the first torpid half. Furniture and clothes worn by the Shaws mainly come in endless, uninviting shades of brown, grey and beige. So too does some of the acting…Bloom's sexual charisma and androgynous prettiness before the camera vanishes clean away on the stage's more distant perspective. He stands around looking caddish in his pencil-thin moustache, blankly disengaged and forever bathed in boredom … Fortunately Dearbhla Molloy's astonishing Mrs Shaw does capture the play's complex essence. She exudes a strange, sad reserve, a sense of shuttered emotion.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph -“I have been banging on of late about the desperate shortage of serious drama in the West End, so I ought to be dancing a jig of joy about this revival of David Storey’s In Celebration (1969). But when I said serious, I didn’t mean downright miserable, and this is the kind of show that sends you into the night wondering whether to slit your wrists at once or wait until you get back home. The admirable Sonia Friedman is clearly determined to keep the flame of it’s-grim-up-North working-class drama alive in the West End. And she doubtless hopes that the presence of Orlando Bloom will be enough to entice punters into enduring a two-and-a-half hours of punishing pessimism. In this I fear she’s been over-optimistic … Director Anna Mackmin, with the help of suitably dreary designs by Lez Brotherston, certainly doesn’t short-change the audience when it comes to wretchedness, while a brilliantined and moustached Orlando Bloom spends the entire evening looking pale and interesting. It’s not a challenging role but he remembers his lines and doesn’t bump into the furniture. Tim Healy and Dearbhla Molloy are genuinely moving as the parents who have done their best in vain and Paul Hilton brings an edge of danger to the stage as vengeful brother Andrew … But frankly you’d only recommend this play to your worst enemy.”
Rhonda Koenig in the Independent - “’It's like a museum, this is!’ says Andrew (Paul Hilton), back in his parents' Yorkshire home. ‘It hasn't changed in 500 years.’ The faded floral wallpaper, the unframed mirror, the protective covers on furniture any sane person would abandon to the elements - all these do look like exhibits in the Museum of Dull, but the play that inhabits this setting is something of a museum piece as well … David Storey's drama of 1969 may be younger than most of the first-night audience, but already it seems a relic of a time when men were no good at expressing their feelings, and women weren't much better… The play also lacks the sympathy for women that would be expected of plays written a short time later. Mother is fingered as the family villain, a chilly expert in ‘domestic science’ and ‘human hygiene’. But the now-clichéd silent scream is Storey's only acknowledgment of her own pain.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian (four stars) -“What makes it a fine play is Storey's use of the specifics of family life to explore a cultural malaise. Andrew's anger springs from the deification of a mother who, in Lawrentian terms, feels she married beneath her … But Storey is also addressing the alienation of sons educated out of their class and suffering a peculiar English mix of guilt and insecurity. Andrew's explanation for his sense of hurt may be a bit glib. But through Steven, Storey nails the traumatised rootlessness that comes from feeling one's life has no significance. Bloom lends Steven exactly the right sense of haunted taciturnity and withdrawn moodiness … Paul Hilton as the vengeful Andrew, however, really has to motor the action, and does so with a quivering, attenuated figure suggestive of a Wakefield Hamlet. Even his few gestures of affection, such as dancing with his mother, are replete with irony ... The result is a richly satisfying evening that reminds you of Storey's ability to confront unpalatable domestic truths and to portray an England in which class is still a governing determinant.”
In making his stage debut as the youngest of three brothers returning home to Yorkshire for their parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary, Orlando Bloom exhibits a faultless modesty. His character Steven, a discouraged teacher, stuttering novelist and father of four, is a silent, moody introvert. He says very little and rarely commands the stage. He succumbs to a little light weeping, but does that in the safety of the darkness.
Unfortunately, Bloom, suitably expressionless as the blond, bland elf archer Legolas in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, does not convey the swirls and eddies of emotional crisis that the David Storey role demands. Acting is more than words. And in his brown clothes, trim moustache and self-effacing stance, Bloom remains a wallflower at his own party.
In Celebration (1969) is one of five plays Storey had produced – all directed by the Lindsay Anderson – at the Royal Court in an astonishing four-year burst. All transferred to the West End, except this one, and none were filmed, except this one. That 1974 film, with the original cast, remains a testament to the extraordinary Court collaboration between Storey and Anderson and a kind of charged social realism, not to mention testosterone factor, in the acting of Alan Bates, James Bolamand Brian Cox (Steven) as the brothers.
Anna Mackmin’s revival – far inferior to Sean Holmes’ revelatory revival in the Minerva, Chichester, six years ago – is a desperate mish-mash of acting styles that subject Storey’s careful, attenuated writing to the kind of strain it cannot survive.
Tim Healy’s Mr Shaw, 50 years down the mine and smoking like a trooper, is a bull-like comedy turn in his white vest and bulging eyes, while Dearbhla Molloy as his wistfully elegant wife suggests a world elsewhere but not a reason for having married the old brute in the first place.
Like some unholy collision between Eugene O’Neill and D H Lawrence, the play hinges on ancient familial grudges and resentments. The Shaws had a first son who died aged seven of pneumonia and the other three have paid different penalties for that tragedy. As with all family reunions in the theatre, the underpinning is revealed as rotting as the show wears on.
Paul Hilton as eldest son Andrew whirls his arms about in an energetic display of sardonic defiance; he has thrown up a career in law to be an artist. Gareth Farr as Colin, a white collar worker in a car factory who might be about to marry a dentist, is a passive blob. But you can’t relate any of this to Storey’s idea of cultural and social alienation.
The neighbours are excruciatingly played by Lynda Baron and Ciaran McIntyre, arriving as if determined to lighten the mood. And Lez Brotherston’s detailed sitting room design has a mysteriously under-used and under-lit upper level. The play is a trial for the whole family and, in these circumstances, the audience as well.
I saw this play in its last week. I enjoyed the staging and thought all the actors did a great job. I found the first half the most interesting with the gradually emerging family secrets/problems. It was frustrating that these were never fully uncovered in the second half and that there was no resolution at the end - I suppose this reflects reality where issues often fester under the surface and cannot be easily resolved.
I didn't hang around afterwards as there already seemed to be a sizeable crowd waiting for Orlando Bloom. I did hear, however, that things got rather out of hand (on the final Saturday night) including bottles being thrown by passing drunks which led to Orlando's autograph signing session being cut short by security staff. Fortunately it appears that no-one was hurt but what a sad ending for any waiting fans who missed their chance to meet Orlando due to the local louts. - Irene
18 Sep 07
Play totally boring, waste of time and money, travelled for 4 hours to see Orlando in this play, I am from Yorkshire and didnt quite understand it ! then we waited to see Orlando after and he only signed a couple of autographs then left, charming !! - Stacey Hodgson
17 Sep 07
Keep the flag of drama flying Sonia but please make it good theatre. This was OK until the interval but the second half was so sloppily written I was left wondering where the bridges between the emotions were. Most of the male performers were shouting at us as well as each other it got really tedious. Also, why did the interval on 12 Sept extend to nearly 40 mins - were the cast watching the football. Made a long evening feel interminable not surprised there were quite a few empty seats. - KMcD
13 Sep 07
Boring beyond words. (Orlando -- suggest you have a discussion with whomever got you involved in this drama.... your talent is completely wasted here...) - Terry Johnson
12 Sep 07
I have nothing but admiration for Sonia Friedman's determination to keep serious drama in the West End and I have no problem with 'star casting' in order to put bums on seats.....but why oh why did she choose this play above so many other better ones of the period. It's difficult to fault the craftsmanship of the staging, design and performances, but its a very long and very dull 2hr 40 min. As a London theatre-goer, I felt like a stranger in a sea of Orlando Bloom fans in the same way I did at Equus - except that this may put them off theatre for life while the former probably converted them overnight ! - Gareth James
04 Sep 07
HOw long must we put up with below average directing from creative teams with no flair, no spark and no originality? What was the point of this? Why did Anna Mackmin passionately feel she needed to do this? Who knows. The passionate pull of careerism must be unbelievable. But then, who cares about product, or artistic integrity, hell, who cares about quality? Go learn something about theatre, then maybe get to call yourself a director. None of the actors can be blamed for this souless and unnecessary production. Theatre is transgression, not a polite museum exhibit. - Simon
23 Aug 07
The first half of In Celebration rather laboriously sets up a wedding anniversary / family reunion which inevitably will descend into family arguments, recriminations and dark secrets. Sure enough the even more plodding second half brings all these but the overwhelming reaction is, "So what". The problems of the three sons are desperately trivial or not even explained properly and they come across as totally ungrateful for the sacrifices that allowed them to leave behind their mining roots for university education and good careers. Horribly miscast (all three sons are played by actors 10 years too young), directed at a funereal pace and poorly lit and designed, it is possible to see the attraction for Orlando Bloom - he gets to do some character acting but in an underwritten and unchallenging role - but it's difficult to see why anyone else wanted to resurrect this old relic. - David Baxter
22 Aug 07
All the cast did a brilliant job. They made me laugh at the right time and moved me at the right time. Thank you to all for providing a wonderful few hours of theatre - Nadine
30 Jul 07
All the cast were excellent. I was particularly impressed by Mr Bloom, perhaps because I was expecting not to be, his character was often silent and falling apart but he conveyed this superbly. I really enjoyed it. - Liz
29 Jul 07
Psst, he can't act for toffee, nor Lembas bread, nor pieces of eight, and the others although competent, all overact to compensate, so the balance of this beautiful, sensitive play is lost. Add to the mix some uncommonly clumsy direction, a wonky set that doesn't make sense from any angle and noisy stage management. Then there is the audience of silly little girls, swooning at the feet of aggressive security staff. What next Ms. Friedman? Perhaps Paris Hilton could be persuaded to give us her Mother Courage. - Joesmith
Opened 10 Sep 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre,name changed in 1895. Major refurbishment 79/80. Taken over by the Royal Court during their two year refurbishment starting in 1996, called the Royal Court downstairs. 650 seats. Society of London Theatre member. An [ATG] member.
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