Three Days of Rain

Synopsis

Explores how the private worlds of one generation are reinterpreted by the next. Walker Janeway and his sister Nan reunite for the reading of their father’s will in the Manhattan loft where he lived. A wealthy architect, Ned’s legacy is the iconic, internationally renowned 1960s New York house designed with his late business partner Theo. Joined by Theo’s son, the three childhood friends meet to settle the estate and determine the future of the house. The discovery of a brief entry, 'three days of rain' , in Ned’s diary is the only clue to the true stories of the previous generation.

Our Review:

11 February 2009

There’s a vivid speech in the first act of Three Days of Rain about Walker’s mother, Lina, throwing herself through a glass window in the family’s eleven-room Manhattan apartment. When we meet Lina in the second act, thirty-five years earlier, before Walker is born, she tells us in a blurred Southern drawl: “I want to be a negro blues singer or a very interesting alcoholic.”

So we know what happened. Attention must be paid, though, as someone said of an Arthur Miller hero, otherwise American playwright Richard Greenberg’s fast-moving dialogue in a play first seen here at the Donmar in 1999 will slip quickly by leaving you in its wake. In the mid 90s, Walker (James McAvoy) and his friend Pip (Nigel Harman) meet up in the headquarters of their respective fathers’ long abandoned architectural practice, along with Walker’s sister Nan (Lyndsey Marshal).

Walker has returned a year ...

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Latest User Review

Gareth James - 7 May 2009:

The fact that theatre is a live art form can be a double-edged sword - you may be at an off night or you might be seeing something at its very best. My intuition told me that on my first visit to this, on it's press night, it was not at its best - the cast were clearly nervous, the first act seemed endless and a continuous mystery mobile phone made it hard to concentrate - and I was right. Now 14 weeks on, in its last week, it seemed to be at its best - it was tighter, the humour came through more and the cast have really grown into their roles (partiulary James McAvoy who I thought was exceptional last night). It's still a good rather than great play, but it is a great production with great performances. You can say what you like about 'celebrity casting' but if it brings in an attentive young audience like this who clearly loved the fast pace, the performances and the atmospheric soundscape, bring it on....

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