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Some days are heartbreaking, some days are joyous, some days Before The Lockdown are both:
In fact, I would go so far as to say that it was one of the most emotional and powerful plays I have ever seen in over twenty years of going to the theatre.
Such is the reputation of the Ustinov that Shuler Hensley, who played Charlie, the 'fat guy' (actually grotesquely, morbidly, obese guy) for the play's off-Broadway premiere came over to Bath for this, the UK premiere. His understanding of the character was quite likely the key that really unlocked the piece.
The play is structured so neatly, in that you are first introduced to this grotesque but fascinating house-bound (in fact practically sofa-bound) character and then a series of what, at first, seem like stereotypical and almost comical interlopers: the Mormon missionary, the carer/nurse, his tearaway teenage daughter, his embittered ex-wife. But as the play progresses each of these disparate parts slip into place and their importance in Charlie's journey becomes clear. But it is done so subtly that it is only in the final scenes that you realise what Charlie, in his dying days, was trying for, what he had lost and hoped to find again before it was too late.
As those final scenes unfolded, the realisation of what this lost, desperate, man is searching for reaches in and grips your heart so tight that it is almost impossible to breath because you know that it is exactly what we all crave for, what we all need, in order to feel human.
As you might expect, the play includes a few references to Moby Dick. Charlie is an online writing tutor and there's a line in the play, a student trying to describe their reaction to the classic book, that perfectly encapsulated what we were witnessing: "I felt saddest of all when I read the boring chapters that were only descriptions of whales, because I knew that the author was just trying to save us from his own sad story, just for a little while."
I don't know if any actor other than Shuler Hensley could carry off the transformation from grotesque spectacle to heart-rending empathy but I am so glad he was here for me to see this magnificent production.
A year later, I'm at the Bristol Old Vic to see Barber Shop Chronicles, a play that's a whole lot more joyful, exuberant, and exciting. In a lively trip across continents we drop in on conversations being had in black African barber shops from Peckham through Kampala to Johannesburg.
Listening in as families and friends from diverse cultures engage in banter, argue, and talk of dreams and plans.
For most of us, a largely white Bristolian (or at least British) audience, this was a glimpse of a colourful, exuberant culture we have next to no experience of.
But ... as we revisit each of the barber shops and watch these conversations play out we start to realise that the struggles these men face are universal and, although they may have different ways of dealing with them, and different pressures, perhaps generational, perhaps cultural, may drive them to find different solutions answering the question of what it means to be a man is never simple and can probably only be answered when we talk to each other.
in 2018
I was initially unsure of this one, a play about some fat guy? Did I really want to see that? But it was at the Ustinov in Bath, and over the years I have come to trust their judgement. Yes, there have been some productions that didn't work for me but the vast majority are excellent and many have been outstanding. On this day in 2018 I saw The Whale and it was, most definitely one of the latter!
Such is the reputation of the Ustinov that Shuler Hensley, who played Charlie, the 'fat guy' (actually grotesquely, morbidly, obese guy) for the play's off-Broadway premiere came over to Bath for this, the UK premiere. His understanding of the character was quite likely the key that really unlocked the piece.
The play is structured so neatly, in that you are first introduced to this grotesque but fascinating house-bound (in fact practically sofa-bound) character and then a series of what, at first, seem like stereotypical and almost comical interlopers: the Mormon missionary, the carer/nurse, his tearaway teenage daughter, his embittered ex-wife. But as the play progresses each of these disparate parts slip into place and their importance in Charlie's journey becomes clear. But it is done so subtly that it is only in the final scenes that you realise what Charlie, in his dying days, was trying for, what he had lost and hoped to find again before it was too late.
As those final scenes unfolded, the realisation of what this lost, desperate, man is searching for reaches in and grips your heart so tight that it is almost impossible to breath because you know that it is exactly what we all crave for, what we all need, in order to feel human.
As you might expect, the play includes a few references to Moby Dick. Charlie is an online writing tutor and there's a line in the play, a student trying to describe their reaction to the classic book, that perfectly encapsulated what we were witnessing: "I felt saddest of all when I read the boring chapters that were only descriptions of whales, because I knew that the author was just trying to save us from his own sad story, just for a little while."
I don't know if any actor other than Shuler Hensley could carry off the transformation from grotesque spectacle to heart-rending empathy but I am so glad he was here for me to see this magnificent production.
in 2019
Listening in as families and friends from diverse cultures engage in banter, argue, and talk of dreams and plans.
For most of us, a largely white Bristolian (or at least British) audience, this was a glimpse of a colourful, exuberant culture we have next to no experience of.
But ... as we revisit each of the barber shops and watch these conversations play out we start to realise that the struggles these men face are universal and, although they may have different ways of dealing with them, and different pressures, perhaps generational, perhaps cultural, may drive them to find different solutions answering the question of what it means to be a man is never simple and can probably only be answered when we talk to each other.
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