Catching Up: May 18, 2011 And I And Silence

Rainiest day in London so far. It was warm, though. The rain went right through my slicker to my skin!

A group of us tried to get into A Delicate Balance with Imelda Staunton. After being turned away and researching it later, I fount out that it is sold out FOR THE ENTIRE RUN. So...Matt and Andy and I were ditched for School For Scandal, which we had already seen. 

We quickly made the decision to trek over to the Finborough Theatre to see And I And Silence, a new play by Naomi Wallace.

I really learned a lot watching this show. There were two versions of the Janie and Dee characters: young and older. The actresses, also younger and older, showed me how the age and maturity of an actor, or just time for the training to kick in, is what makes great performances. The training kicks in with time and aging.

The older Jamie and Dee were beautiful to watch. They had engaging simplicity and the strength/confidence to own what they were doing.

The gorgeous older Jamie and Dee. 

The play itself was okay writing, but it needed a rewrite or two. The ending seemed a little overwrought...was joint hari-kari really necessary? Well...kind of...it would've been impossible for them to live happily together as a multi-racial lesbian couple in the 1940s. Being ex-cons also wouldn't have helped them. Perhaps death was the only way for them...hm...