| re: The revival of 'Night Mother |
| Last Edit: Delvino 10:11 am EDT 05/31/18 |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:07 am EDT 05/31/18 |
| In reply to: re: The revival of 'Night Mother - bobby2 02:41 am EDT 05/31/18 |
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I love the play. It's a script I read every year at least, not because of its subject, but because of the effortless way Norman crafts the highest stakes parent-child confrontation. It's still perfect piece of writing, for my money. I saw the original production twice, and it made an indelible impression.
The revival had two stellar actresses who seemed in different plays. Both had fine moments, but the production staging couldn't find a common turf for the intersection of very disparate acting styles. The play also had a too cozily sit-com friendly set, unlike the stark authenticity of the original (which matches Norman's edict that it must not comment on the characters too expressly.) The understated Falco faced a Mama that seemed twice as large as she needed to be at times. Blethyn had to struggle with an accent, and we were aware of her effort. Falco and, say, Ellen Burstyn or Diane Ladd would've been ideal. I am a big admirer of Blethyn (and even saw her on the London stage back in the day in "Steaming.") But this was not her role, at least with this Jesse. |
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re: The revival of 'Night Mother - bobby2 02:41 am EDT 05/31/18 |
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I saw it too, and felt similarly. - GabbyGerard 11:04 am EDT 05/31/18 |
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