Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Bristol Old Vic

BAM Harvey Theater

May 12, 2018

Photo courtesy of Bristol Old Vic & Brooklyn Academy of Music

The Bristol Old Vic production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night is now playing at Brooklyn Academy of Music.  The cast is truly amazing, bringing new insight to Eugene O’Neill’s well-known characters.  Jeremy Irons masterfully plays James Tyrone and Lesley Manville vividly portrays his wife, Mary.  Matthew Beard and Rory Keenan set the stage ablaze as brothers Edmund and Jamie.  Jessica Regan is biting and sarcastic as Cathleen, their summer maid.  Directed by Sir Richard Eyre, this production brings vibrant depth and dimension to the tragic relationships depicted in this American classic.

The cast of Long Day's Journey Into Night
Photo courtesy of  Bristol Old Vic & Brooklyn Academy of Music

Long Day’s Journey Into Night is Eugene O’Neill’s autobiographical tragedy.  Not produced until after his death, it chronicles a day in the life of characters modeled after his family.  Each bares their soul, whether out of sorrow, jealousy, or spite, revealing the impetus of their individual downfall.  James Tyrone, a once admired matinee idol, is now aging and holding onto his glory days.  His son Jamie is his biggest disappointment.  Jamie both loves and hates his brother Edmund, who is sick with consumption and preparing to enter a sanitarium.  The most brutal of truths for all of them to face is that Mary, the matriarch of the family, is a morphine addict, overwhelmed by pain and regret, too far gone in denial to face the needs of her family.  Her line, “The past is the present… and it is also the future,” succinctly defines the despair in the hearts of all the characters.

Matthew Bears & Rory Keenan
Photo courtesy of Bristol Old Vic & Brooklyn Academy of Music

Lesley Manville, as Mary Tyrone, brilliantly slingshots from denial into the present moment with dangerous urgency.  Her performance is heartbreaking and genuine.  Jeremy Irons dominates the stage, as the character of James Tyrone requires.  He pulls the others characters into cohesiveness, making strong demands and setting excessive expectations that push them over the edge.  Rory Keenan portrays Jamie as robust and reactionary.  Matthew Bears’ Edmond is deeply introspective and sensitive.  The scene between these brothers in the latter portion of the play is emotionally riveting and dramatically impactful.  It heightens the sense of solitude and isolation each character confronts on a daily basis.

Lesley Manville, Set Design by Rob Howell
Photo courtesy of Bristol Old Vic & Brooklyn Academy of Music

Fast paced from the start, these actors embody the work of Eugene O’Neill for three hours and twenty minutes, unearthing heart wrenching layers of truth.  The set, designed by Rob Howell, has transparent walls that allow the action of each scene to be enveloped by the sunrise, the sunset, and eventually disappear into the fog.  Long Day’s Journey Into Night is playing at BAM Harvey Theater through May 27.   

Domenick Danza