Possibly the longest play I've ever seen, or shall ever wish to see, COAHTR is not easy on the audience. Everything is agony, from the heat of the Deep South to the running time of Three and a Quarter hours. Still, its exactly the kind of agony that's worth it.
Jamie Parker (Parade's End, Henry V) plays the broken Brick, incredible from the moment he takes the stage in just a towel and a cast around his foot. The play is all about entrapment, hopelessness and holding on until you just can't anymore, and from the second he falls onto the bed and pulls the first expression of bitterness and doubt, I was sold. Parker is an underrated genius, shining out in Act 2 as Brick's emotions explode to the surface through his carefully constructed mask.
Almost as beautifully constructed is the plantation home Big Daddy has worked so hard for, a stunning half-lake (real water, very splashy and incredibly useful as a representation of the no escape theme thats in this production), half bedroom, with gorgeous colours and furnishings. I could definitely live there. (Especially if it came with Jamie Parker).
Mae, the foul sister in law, and Gooper were the worst caricatures of humanity imaginable, nothing shocking nowadays, in a culture of Eastenders moments and conniving bad guys, but perfectly disgusting in their own right. I've never wanted to slap someone so hard as I wanted to slap Mae.
Zoe Boyle, was far more enjoyable as Maggie, having fun and settling her character somewhere between desperate and truly desirous, even when she is at her wits end. Maggie often is with Brick, even though she clearly feels something for her utterly broken husband.
I loved this. Truly I did, it was intelligent, didnt pull punches and didnt try to pretend it was lighter than its own material (though Simon Roberts' Reverend Tooker pushed that so close to breaking point). Truly I would say that going up to Leeds is entirely worth it - but I can definitely hope that it heads out on tour, right?
Right?
Runs through 27th October
Get tickets, or get drunk.
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