Synopsis At the heart of the play is a gay love story set in York in the early 1960s. While putting on the York Miracle Plays, a middle class young man has met a working class man and tries to persuade him to leave York for London, where he is working in the theatre. But unlike so many working class artists in the 1960s, he stays at home. The play is also a meditation on art, and in particular on the existence of an alternative tradition that goes back to the York Mystery Cycles whose work is both tough and emotional, unsentimental and profoundly felt.
Note: This review dates from November 2001 and an earlier tour date of this production.
The theme of repressed homosexuality in England has been seen on stage many times. In recent years, Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful Thing gave the theme a fresh approach and now old hand, one of the Royal Court’s "angry young men" of the 1950s and 60s, attempts to do the same in his new play, The York Realist, which he also directs in this English Touring Theatre production.
Set in 1960's Yorkshire, the play is a love story, of sorts, between farm labourer George and John, the assistant director of a new play in town. George is a down to earth, "tell it like it is" Northerner while John, in stark contrast, is a bundle of thoughtful, middle-class London sensibilities. But opposites attract and soon the two face an agonising decision. Do they continue with their relationship on a sexual and emotional level or do they revert to the lives they led prior to meeting. Torn between the mother he respects and admires and the man he loves, George battles with his conscience every step of the way.
The years have taken their toll on George's mother, played as an old-fashioned, apron-wearing martyr by Anne Reid. She's now very ill but continues to wait on George hand and foot and to believe her son to be quiet, hardworking and ultimately happy - thanks to the contented face he assumes in her company. In other quarters of the family, George's sister Barbara (Caroline O'Neil) plays second fiddle to her brother but never protests, whilst local girl, Doreen (Wendy Nottingham), so similar to mum, is viewed as the perfect wife for George.
The performances are all faultless. Richard Coyle as John conveys a real sense of fear as his character's true self emerges and LIoyd Owen's George is pitch-perfect as a man whose apparent aloofness belies hidden depths of vulnerability. Reid injects some lighter, comic moments, which are also tinged with an edge of poignancy, unaware as she is of her son's inner torment. And as the younger women, Nottingham and O'Neil shoulder their grief so heartbreakingly in the second act that, on the night I attended, several members of the audience were reduced to open sobbing.
But if tears tend to put you off, don't let them in this instance. One of Gill's greatest strengths is that he doesn't forfeit pace for emotion. His instinct to hold back means that The York Realist is never overly sentimental. Instead, what we get is a satisfyingly slow-burning tale of forbidden passions and family ties, the hidden self and fear of change on a grand scale.
My one complaint is William Dudley's set, which is disappointingly sparse and lifeless, unlike this production which involves you on so many levels. But I don't want to end on a negative note. This is a great production and deserves to do well.
- Glenn Meads (reviewed at The Lowry, Salford Quays)
This play is just wonderful, the writing and the acting are brilliant and so true to life. The scenes between Lloyd Owen as the son and Anne Reid as the mum are so moving very funny and heartbreaking at the same time. It seemed to me to work better on a small stage like the Royal Court than at the Strand Theatre, but thats just a minor bleep. I have always admired Peter Gill's writing, but this is his gem. Lloyd Owen is a revelation in this play, I have always made a point of watching him over the years and he just lights up the screen and stage in whatever he does. One hopes that The York Realist will be turned into a film sometime with the same cast. With so much rubbish comming out of our film industry, this would be up at the top with Billy Elliot and The Full Monty. So you film producers come on and back this wonderful play. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (194.202.96.100)
27 Mar 04
this concerns a very down-to-earth Yorkshire family, principally focusing on the son's gay relationship with a London Assistant Director and each of the young men's thoughts and expectations about the liaison. The portrayals, which could have been over-the-top but weren't, were quite sensitive and engaging. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
19 Mar 02
Yep, I concur entirely with the previous correspondent, this should have gone somewhere smaller on transfer -- but sit up close, as I did, and you will be completely swept away by a superb play, superbly performed. The owners of the Strand Theatre should be ashamed of themselves, too, for allowing this theatre to become so tatty; the seats are Odeon cinema, circa 1950. Frankly, they made enough from the long run of BUDDY here, they could put something back into the fabric/s of their theatre! One encouraging thing, though: the tickets are priced sensibly! Top price is £30 on weekends (£25 on weekdays; and only £15 for all seats on Tuesdays). Bravo. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
16 Mar 02
What a treat to go to the theatre and see a well written play! The acting is of particular high quality, especially Richard Coyle who is brilliant. It was however a bad decision by the producers to move this production into the huge Strand Theatre. The stage engulfs the set, and the whole production seems so remote. This is a small intimate play that does merit the move from the Royal Court Theatre and deserves to be seen on the West End. It does, however, need a small theatre like the Arts, Ambassadors, the Duchess, or the Comedy where it could be more intimate and fully appreciated. - USER: Whatsonstage.com
15 Mar 02
(Of the production at the Royal Court) This is a masterful play which explores the problems of a homosexual relationship with great tenderness. The production and acting are marvellous and it must be seen by anyone who cares about new writing and good theatre - USER: Whatsonstage.com
Opened 22 May 1905, originally the Waldorf, became the Strand in 1909 and the Whitney in 1911, back to the Strand in 1915. On 8 Oct 1940 the theatre was hit during a bombing raid - the show went on! There had been an earlier Strand Theatre where the Aldwych tube station now is that opened in 1832. 1061 seats. Member of the Society of London Theatre. On 25 March 2003 Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Limited, which had owned the freehold of the theatre since 1991, took over the management of the Strand from the Louis I Michaels Ltd Group of Companies when their lease expired. Delfont Mackintosh is now planning a 1.5 million refurbishment programme to restore the theatre to its former glory. May 2005 opened as Novello Theatre.
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