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80 Minutes of Nothing (The River)

Posted by:	Singapore/Fling 04:58 pm EST 01/21/15

I'd heard the play was simple, elegiac, and fairly plotless. I'd hoped that the negative response was from people who expect constant excitement from their theater, and that this was a subtle gem. Not for me, nor my husband. The play is one long not-quite-a-trick, with long passages of uninteresting activity that have nothing to do with character, situation, or story. Hugh Jackman chops veggies and oils a fish before popping it in the oven. Cush Jumbo brings depth and humanity to her part, but the other performers can't find much in the way of detail and specificity in their blank-slate characters. I like much of Butterworth's writing, and I can appreciate non-traditional theater. But aside from lacking characters or story, this also lacks tension, mystery, or anything really happening. For a play about a man broken by his past relationships, we see little in the way of either pain or passion. There is potential in the play, but this feels like a first draft, a skeleton to fill in with dramatics, or at least dynamics. Even in this small space, details are lost - we had to look at the script afterward to know what the object in the box is. Once we knew, it made no difference on our (me and the hubs) experience. (Spoiler: it's not Gwyneth's head, or anything remotely so interesting.) What drew Hugh to this? He doesn't do much in the part. Is it purely the chance to look manly and have a series of women inexplicably throw themselves at him? It's not bad. Everyone working on this are skilled. But goodness, is it dull. And at the end, we're left with...

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Next:	can you imagine how bad it would be without Hugh Jackman? - dramedy 07:36 pm EST 01/21/15

Thread:	can you imagine how bad it would be without Hugh Jackman? - dramedy 07:36 pm EST 01/21/15 (2) And yet... - MockingbirdGirl 07:40 pm EST 01/21/15 (1) re: And yet... - lonlad 08:02 pm EST 01/21/15

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