National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue

I was so excited to have the opportunity to see The Motive and the Cue, a play about the rehearsal process for the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet directed by Sir John Gielgud and starring Richard Burton, which was filmed live on stage by National Theatre Live during its limited run at the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End.  This screening was presented by the Tanner Humanities Center and Salt Lake Film Society yesterday and I loved it!  Sir John Gielgud (Mark Gatiss) has been hand selected by Richard Burton (Johnny Flynn) to direct a Broadway production of Hamlet in which he will star.  Gielgud once portrayed the character himself to great acclaim at the Old Vic but he is feeling like the best days of his career are over and took the job out of desperation rather than faith in Burton's ability to do the part justice.  Burton, who has recently married Elizabeth Taylor (Tuppence Middleton), is feeling tremendous pressure to live up to the challenge despite his bravura during rehearsal.  The two of them inevitably clash as Burton struggles to find his way into the character and Gielgud struggles to find a way to help his tempestuous star.  The rest of the cast, including an amusing Hume Cronyn (Allan Corduner) who plays Polonius, complicate matters because they revere Gielgud as a legend in the theatre but are also star-struck by Burton's fame (and by the access he provides to the glamorous Taylor).  With just days before opening night they hash it out in private and find an interpretation they can both be proud of.  Gatiss and Flynn give absolutely brilliant performances (their impersonations of two very well-known actors are perfect) and their scenes together are explosive and poignant by turns.  Gatiss is extraordinary in a scene in which Gielgud tries, unsuccessfully, to coach Burton through the "Speak the speech, I pray you" monologue and then performs it himself after Burton storms out (there are so many instances where lines from Hamlet inform the action and I loved the irony of having Gielgud give the speech where Hamlet instructs his actors).  Flynn, however, gave me chills with his performance of Hamlet's soliloquy after Burton finds his motivation.  I was less impressed with Middleton because she doesn't quite have Taylor's charisma but the rest of the cast, much like the cast of Hamlet, are great as background players in the central drama.  The set design, featuring a large rehearsal room, and period costumes from the 1960s are outstanding.  This play is such an ode to the importance of theatre as an art form and I really enjoyed it!  I am so glad that these National Theatre Live screenings are available near me!

Note:  Even though I loved this show, I think Andrew Scott should have won the Olivier Award for Best Actor instead of Gatiss because his performance in Vanya is remarkable.

National Theatre Live: Vanya

The main focus of my BA in English was British literature but if I were to do it all over again I would definitely study Russian literature because I love it.  I don't know what this says about me but I really relate to the dark themes in the works of Dostoevsky (my favorite author), Tolstoy, Pushkin, and Chekhov.  So I was really excited to have the chance see Vanya, a bold retelling of the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov starring Andrew Scott, which was filmed live on stage by National Theatre Live during its sold out run at the Duke of York's Theatre in London.  I saw this screening, presented by the Tanner Humanities Center and the Salt Lake Film Society, yesterday and it is absolutely brilliant.  The original setting has been changed to a potato farm in Ireland, the names have been anglicized, the dialogue has been modernized, and Scott portrays all of the characters with a very minimal set but the impact is just as powerful as the source material.  Alexander, an elderly filmmaker who hasn't had a hit in years, visits the vast estate he inherited from his late wife Anna with his much younger second wife Helena.  Anna's brother Ivan and Anna and Alexander's daughter Sonia have been running the estate for years and are bitter and angry at the disruption.  Ivan is in love with Helena and cannot understand why she is wasting her life with such a worthless old man like Alexander.  Sonia is secretly in love with her father's doctor Michael and calls him repeatedly to see to his aches and pains but he keeps returning because he is also in love with Helena.  These repressed passions and resentments eventually lead to a dramatic confrontation when Alexander announces that he plans to sell the estate.  Sonia reassures Ivan that, even though they have no joy in their lives, they will eventually receive their reward.  Scott brings each of these characters, and several others who provide comic relief, to life with very specific accents, body language, and props and it is absolutely mesmerizing (I loved it whenever Helena would play with her necklace and when Maureen, the housekeeper, would chain smoke).  It is easy to distinguish between the characters, even when they are interacting with each other, and Scott portrays their boredom, frustration, and unhappiness with so much passion.  It is a remarkable performance!  The nearly empty stage is filled with mismatched pieces, such as what one might see during rehearsals, and a large mirror gives the impression of more than one character on the stage.  Scott is dressed simply so as not to detract from his performance and this is very effective.  I was blown away by this production and I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than by seeing a Russian play about the meaninglessness of life!

National Theatre Live: Henry V

Once again the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah is joining with Salt Lake Film Society to bring National Theatre Live performances to the Broadway.  I was able to see my first production, William Shakespeare's Henry V starring Kit Harington filmed live from the Donmar Warehouse, yesterday and I loved it!  This play, where a once wayward prince earns his crown with blood, is incredibly compelling (it is one of my favorites) and this production has a contemporary setting making it even more powerful.  After succeeding to the throne of England, Henry (Harington) is informed that he has a tenuous claim to the French throne and, knowing that a foreign conquest will solidify his popularity with the people, he begins a war with France.  Outnumbered five to one, Henry rallies his troops for battle with the famous St. Crispin's Day speech (Harington's delivery gave me goosebumps) and, despite the overwhelming odds, achieves a decisive victory.  He wins the throne of France and the hand of the reluctant Katherine (Diany Samba-Bandza) thus beginning his reign as of one of England's most notable kings.  What I found intriguing about this production, aside from the contemporary setting, is that Henry is not portrayed as a patriotic hero as is usually the case.  Rather, he is incredibly ruthless and is as addicted to power as he used to be to alcohol.  There were so many memorable moments, including the opening scene when Henry enters a nightclub to meet Falstaff (Adam Maxey) and literally vomits on the floor, when Henry descends from above to inspect his troops ("Once more into the breach"), when Bardolph (Claire-Louise Cordwell), a former friend, is hanged for looting (this is unbelievably shocking), when the executed French prisoners (this is usually portrayed off stage) leave their boots on the stage and then exit while a requiem is sung, when Henry coerces a kiss from Katherine, and when the Chorus (Millicent Wong) accuses Henry in the final scene.  The staging of the Battle of Agincourt, which includes the sound of machine guns and helicopters as well as the use of smoke and strobe lights, is highly effective at portraying the brutality of war because it is almost overwhelming.  I liked having the courtiers of both England and France wear tailored suits (black for England and grey for France) and the soldiers wear camouflage fatigues with machine guns rather than swords and I absolutely loved the minimal set which features three large steps and a wall that opens to become an illuminated St. George's Cross.  Harington gives a phenomenal performance but I also enjoyed Olivier Hubbard as the cocky Dauphin as well as the women who portray many of the English and French Dukes.  I would have loved to have been a part of the actual audience for this brilliant production but this is the next best thing because the cameras captured the action so well.  I will definitely be attending more National Theatre Live performances in the future (go here for more information).