‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Tom Sturridge. Photo: RIchard Hubert Smith

SEA WALL/A LIFE
Written by Simon Stephens & Nick Payne
Directed by Carrie Cracknell
Through September 29, 2019
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855-801-5876), www.SeaWallALife.com

By David NouNou

‘Tis the season when a lot of older Broadway shows have closed (or are about to) and currently lots of theaters are vacant. So, what do you do when you have empty houses? Fill them up with as many Off-Broadway or regional theater two- or three-character shows as you can. If they had a modicum of success somewhere else, now is the time to bring them to Broadway. They are comprised of minimal sets, costumes or changes so the move would not be that expensive to transfer. Sea Wall/A Life is one such example. Having recently closed from a successful run at a smaller venue, the Public Theatre, it was only a matter of time for the show to move, especially since the original stars, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, were available.

Sea Wall/A Life is not so much a two-character play as two-one act monologues. They are connected by the thread of life and death. The first being Sea Wall written by Simon Stephens who gave us the masterpiece The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Here Tom Sturridge plays Alex, a man recalling his life and love of his wife Helen, daughter Lucy, and stalwart father-in-law who now lives in France. The incidents are recalled vividly and intensely, but the recollections are done as unfinished sentences. Every so often, Alex starts remembering an event that took place with a member of the family, gives us a great visual journey but doesn’t complete the story, and goes off on a tangent about another story. After a while this becomes very frustrating because as he gets to the emotional section of the incident, the gears are shifted and we are left stranded. You get the full gist of what’s going on (no spoilers by me), but you have to fill in the gaps.

A Life is written by Nick Payne who gave us such recent works as Constellations at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet at Roundabout’s Laura Pels, both starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Here, Mr. Gyllenhaal is Abe, a music producer who is caught between the illness of his father and the impending birth of his daughter. Abe can deal with his father’s illness and his obligations to him, but is not prepared for the role of impending fatherhood. He can do son, but he can’t do father; that was his father’s job. Again everything is beautifully narrated but we are dealing with dual narratives.  Abe shifts his narrative between his father’s dilemmas and the birth of his daughter; we are again taken to a certain part of the story and midway shifts to the other story, zig zags back and forth and we have to differentiate.

Due to the intense content of both monologues, the evening is made palatable due to the expert performances of its two stars. Mr. Sturridge as Alex breaks the heart with his rendition of his tale and the sensitivity he emotes. He is this fragile figure that is crumbling before our eyes by the overwhelming grief of his tale.

Mr. Gyllenhaal is one of the most unique actors that Broadway audiences get the pleasure to see every couple of years. He is a huge international movie star, and such a person does not come to Broadway often, but Mr. Gyllenhaal is the exception to that rule. Every appearance becomes a must-see event because he gives so much of himself to the roles. You can see the love and respect he has for the medium and it is always a delight watching him create a new role.

Although as a show Sea Wall/A Life might not be an uplifting theatrical experience, the experience is watching two young talented actors. Mr. Gyllenhaal and Mr. Sturridge, both giving emotionally charged performances.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published August 14, 2019
Reviewed at August 13, 2019 press performance.

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal (left) & Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal (left) & Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

‘SEA WALL/A LIFE’: Tom Sturridge. Photo: Richard Hubert Smith

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‘1984’: Olivia Wilde, Tom Sturridge & the cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

1984
By George Orwell
A new adaptation created by Robert Icke & Duncan Macmillan
Directed by Robert Icke & Duncan Macmillan
Hudson Theatre
139-141 West 44th Street
855-801-5876. http://www.revisedtruth.com

By Scott Harrah

Those who have never read George Orwell’s 1984 are advised to do so before attending this hard-to-follow stage adaptation. The show recently transferred to Broadway after several runs in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Even if you have read the book, there are plenty of disturbing scenes that pay homage to the classic novel about a dystopian future. Does it have parallels between Big Brother and the current administration in Washington? Perhaps, but even so, this is not an enjoyable or intellectually stimulating, intermission-free 101 minutes of theater.

In this age of “alternative facts” and claims of “fake news,” 1984 and its theme of reality being denied should seem like a chilling reminder of what’s happening in 2017, but the narrative as adapted by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan is simply so disjointed that it’s often puzzling to understand what’s happening, even if one is already familiar with the book’s plot.

Although the setting is 1984, we’re really watching things happen in, uh, 2050? (Don’t ask.) Winston (Tom Sturridge) is a bureaucrat rewriting history for the Ministry of Truth, in a world controlled by Big Brother and a network of telescreens that monitor people’s words and actions and the Thought Police try to eliminate “Thought crime.” After a nuclear holocaust, the world is divided into Eurasia, Eastasia and Oceania (which includes the United Kingdom and North America). The totalitarian government introduces a new language, “newspeak,” so no one even has the words to speak out against the state.

Winston commits the crime of falling in love with Julia (Olivia Wilde). A number of things happen as a result, but expect lots of shouting, creepy music, flashing lights, and some scenes with Winston and Olivia projected onto the stage like a film.

Ads for the Broadway version of 1984, PR for the show and even notices in the theater warn about graphic violence and “torture” scenes. Yes, there are some lurid sections, including a projected video close-up of a man being shot in the head and the consequential blood and gore, but by the time this happens, it all just seems so pointless. Other than an especially gripping performance by Tony Award winner Reed Birney as O’Brien, the overzealous Party leader, this 1984 adaptation, while ambitious, fails to “scare” and instead just disappoints us.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 16, 2017

‘1984’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘1984’: Reed Birney, Olivia Wilde & Tom Sturridge. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘1984’: Tom Sturridge & Reed Birney. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

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