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Neverwhere
2018-Jun-11, Monday 10:35
On Friday night, ![[twitter.com profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/e0caa790ec10/-/twitter.com/favicon.ico)
liszante and I went to see Neverwhere after I was the only one to respond with a definite date and time to a Facebook post asking if anyone wanted to go. Points for decisiveness.
Lifeline Theatre did a performance of Neverwhere a while ago, while I lived in Japan, so I never got to see it then. And due to rights issues with the adaptation, there was a note in the program that this would be the last run of the stage performance for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad I went. I did not get a picture of the stage, but I did take this picture out in the lobby:
There was also a "Chicago Below" collage with pictures submitted by various people, which kind of makes me want to run a Neverwhere-inspired game set in Chicago.
The stage was set up in two levels, with a catwalk and ramshackle (or ramshackle-looking) boards on top, a stairway that kept moving, and several ladders. True to the theme, there were doors everywhere, close to a dozen of them scattered all around stage's two levels, and people were constantly going in and out of them. Richard Mayhew and a few bystandards started on the top level, as he waited for the bus that would take him down to London and the old woman read his palm and uttered the words that I remember most out of the whole book:
Each of the actors played multiple roles. The same actor played Old Bailey, the Earl of Earl' Court, and the abbot of the Black Friars, for example, the same actor played the angel Islington and Richard's friend at work, the same actress played Hunter and the partners' assistant at work, and the same actress played Jessica and Lamia (and maybe Anesthesia the ratspeaker, now that I think about it), which itself makes a point about Richard's views on women. They did an excellent job of portraying separate mannerisms and dialects, though, to the point that I mostly only noticed if I concentrated on it. I thought Mr. Croup and Islington had the same actor until I realized that was impossible because they'd have to be on stage at the same time.
I don't know from theatre criticism, but I liked the performances. Richard never quite achieved the quiet confidence that killing the Beast gives him in the book, but he certainly portrayed a complete outsider confused by everything around him very well. I could have believed the Marquis was the traitor based on his dismissiveness if I didn't know who the real traitor was, and Croup and Vandermar were fantastic. Door was much like she was in the book--muted emotions, devotion to her family's quest, and slight fondness for Richard, like a stray cat that keeps hanging around your house until you take them in.
The fight scenes weren't very believable, though, but there weren't many of them.
It runs until July and it's the last production, so I strongly recommend it if you have the time and ability.
Lifeline Theatre did a performance of Neverwhere a while ago, while I lived in Japan, so I never got to see it then. And due to rights issues with the adaptation, there was a note in the program that this would be the last run of the stage performance for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad I went. I did not get a picture of the stage, but I did take this picture out in the lobby:
There was also a "Chicago Below" collage with pictures submitted by various people, which kind of makes me want to run a Neverwhere-inspired game set in Chicago.
The stage was set up in two levels, with a catwalk and ramshackle (or ramshackle-looking) boards on top, a stairway that kept moving, and several ladders. True to the theme, there were doors everywhere, close to a dozen of them scattered all around stage's two levels, and people were constantly going in and out of them. Richard Mayhew and a few bystandards started on the top level, as he waited for the bus that would take him down to London and the old woman read his palm and uttered the words that I remember most out of the whole book:
"You've a good heart. Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go. But mostly, it's not."Most of the script followed the book pretty closely, but there were a few additions that stood out to me as particularly expository, though I'm not sure if that would be the same for a viewer who hadn't read the book half-a-dozen times like I have.
Each of the actors played multiple roles. The same actor played Old Bailey, the Earl of Earl' Court, and the abbot of the Black Friars, for example, the same actor played the angel Islington and Richard's friend at work, the same actress played Hunter and the partners' assistant at work, and the same actress played Jessica and Lamia (and maybe Anesthesia the ratspeaker, now that I think about it), which itself makes a point about Richard's views on women. They did an excellent job of portraying separate mannerisms and dialects, though, to the point that I mostly only noticed if I concentrated on it. I thought Mr. Croup and Islington had the same actor until I realized that was impossible because they'd have to be on stage at the same time.
I don't know from theatre criticism, but I liked the performances. Richard never quite achieved the quiet confidence that killing the Beast gives him in the book, but he certainly portrayed a complete outsider confused by everything around him very well. I could have believed the Marquis was the traitor based on his dismissiveness if I didn't know who the real traitor was, and Croup and Vandermar were fantastic. Door was much like she was in the book--muted emotions, devotion to her family's quest, and slight fondness for Richard, like a stray cat that keeps hanging around your house until you take them in.
The fight scenes weren't very believable, though, but there weren't many of them.
It runs until July and it's the last production, so I strongly recommend it if you have the time and ability.
