Jamie and The Late Henry Moss

Hi, Everyone- I hope those of you living on the East Coast are doing okay in the snow. The BBC showed the skiers in Times Square this morning. I never understood those people- why ski? Are you that desperate to go skiing? Well, in any case, I hope you had a few snowball fights and made a couple of snowangels before it got too gross!

I had a fantastic weekend! John filled you in on most of it. So, I will just tell you about the show I saw on Saturday.

I attended a Saturday Matinee performance of The Late Henry Moss by Sam Shepard at the Almeida Theatre. I was, of course, extremely early so I sat at the Cafe and read the paper. The cafe had surprisingly good coffee. This is important, because not all theatres have good coffee in their cafes. Actually, most places here don't have good coffee PERIOD. But I digress.

You know how there's a sort of stigma surrounding Matinee crowds? Well, this audience was no different. I guess I was surprised because it's Shepard and I don't know how many 70-year-olds would particularly enjoy Shepard- especially 70-year-old British people. So, I was looking forward to hearing their thoughts. And they did not disappoint. During Interval a woman behind me said to the man sitting next to her, "He's very good at weird, isn't he? Because this is weird!"

I have to preface my opinion of this production with the confession that I have not read The Late Henry Moss. So, I am going to raise a few questions. If you have read the play and have an answer, please post a comment. Also- I am just starting out and realize that I am low on the totem pole compared to Michael Attenborough, the Artistic Director of Almeida Theatre and Director of this production. But these are my thoughts...

I'm going to start with the question everyone is asking: how were their accents? I am happy to report they had the same problems we have with the British Accent. There are so many variations, it's hard to stick with one. The two main characters are brothers Earl and Ray. They supposedly grew up in the same house and yet they sounded completely different. Remember Putty, Elaine's Mechanic Boyfriend on Seinfeld? That's what Earl sounded like- slick, pointed and for the most part- Neutral. Not bad. Ray, however, was John Travolta meets Sean Penn. His accent was all over the place, but it was never neutral. Then there was Henry, their father. His was Southern and for the most part it was consistent. The funniest accent came from Esteban, the supposedly Mexican neighbor. The only reason I know he was Mexican is because they say it toward the end of the play. But for the first hour or so, I couldn't figure out if he was Mexican or Cuban. Most of the time he sounded like Scarface and every once in a while a very Mexican sound came out of his mouth. It was confusing. The best accent came from Taxi. He was Texan and he was consistent. Everyone strayed from time to time back into their own accent. Interestingly enough, there were certain words that did it for all of them. Although I can't remember any of them right now. But enough about accents, how was the production?

It was okay. Overall, I got the Spine. I understood what they were trying to say. But I didn't agree with the way they said it. I had two major problems with the production: The Director did not use the space to its fullest potential and everything the actors said was the most important thing (which led to a lot of shouting.)

In two of the three productions I've seen here, I've mentioned that the Directors have not made full use of the stage. I am beginning to wonder if this is a difference between the US (or at least my training) and the UK. The first ten to fifteen minutes of this play took place around a table. The two brothers are in their father's house. He is dead in the bed UR. Earl is sitting at the table SL and Ray is standing at the table SR. Earl smokes a cigarette in this time. Other than that, nothing happens. Ray barely moves, except the occassional shifting of weight and touching a socket wrench only after they've discussed the tools for a couple of minutes. Maybe this bothered me because I was sitting far House Left and could not see Ray's face at all for the entire opening scene. Or maybe it bothered me because it was just plain boring. Most of this opening is Exposition, so please do something to make it a little more active! Why not give Ray a prop or have Earl need to get up for a light? This was most obvious in the opening section, but continued throughout the production- long moments of stagnation and exposition.

My other problem was mostly a problem with Earl and Ray, although Henry succumbed to it a few times. Everything they said was SO IMPORTANT. This showed itself in two ways. Either they spoke the line very slowly and pointedly or they shouted it to the heavens. And I do mean this happened on 90% of their lines. Everything was so dramatic. The shouting just escalated and escalated. How many times have my teachers said to me, "There's more than one way to express anger." Yes, these characters were angry, but that was just the beginning. I don't know if the actors just couldn't go deeper or if they really thought this was all it was. Either way, I feel like the Director should have taken steps to limit the shouting and overdramatising. There is the possibility that most of the lines are written in all CAPS. I don't own this play, so I haven't been able to check on that. But even so, sometimes things are written in all CAPS for reasons other than the playwright wanting you to shout them.

In conclusion (this does sound like a paper, doesn't it?) despite the fact that I've focused on what I didn't like, I did enjoy myself. Jason Watkins, Taxi, was electrically funny and well-rounded. Trevor Cooper as Henry was convincing as the destroyed man who hasn't really lived in years. And the story is worth seeing.

For those of you who made it to the end- thank you for reading!