Skip to main content

Hymn


When: 31st July 2021 (Matinee)

Where: The Almeida Theatre, London

Writer: Lolita Chakrabarti

Director: Blanche McIntyre


I got these tickets spur of the moment, going into this play I had no idea what to expect. Hymn is an incredible play. It was simply the story of two men. It explored their lives, who they are as people. 

The characters created in the play were perfectly crafted. They had depth and sophistication like real people. Both were incredibly acted and Adrian Lester and Danny Sapani's portrayal of the characters were perfect. The characters felt realistic and their emotion was raw and true. Gil (Adrian Lester) was on the surface a successful businessman. He came from a well respected family and had had a good upbringing. However underneath he was struggling, this wasn't too clear until the very end, it was hinted at throughout but like people do he hid it. Contrastingly Benny (Danny Sapani) had had a more challenging life, he was brought up by a single mother although from what he tells us she did the best she could. His anger and emotion is a more obvious, compared to Gil, Benny appears as more vulnerable. It is surprising how quickly they become like brothers too each other and how they understand each other so well, proving that they are not that different.

Throughout the play we experience a variety of different emotions. Some scenes are fun, colourful and exciting, there is dancing and singing and it just feels like they are having a good times. However other moments are heart-wrenching, the pain portrayed by the characters is difficult to watch. This made the play satisfying, it felt complete and although the ending was hard I felt contented with it. 

I don't have too much to say. This play was incredible and to be honest left me speechless. The acting was incredible and the emotion and realism of the story made the whole thing so much more powerful. I just loved every second of it. Nothing I could write here could ever do this play justice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Live In Time

  When: 18th January 2025 Where: Cinema Writer: Nick Payne Director: John Crowley (Spoilers ahead) We Live In Time relies on its actors and Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield are perfectly cast. Not only do they interpret the script beautifully, but they bring their own personalities to the characters, making them detailed and nuanced. Nick Payne's script is wonderfully crafted, it shows such clear understanding and a close reading of what it means to be human. By allowing the actors to interpret it in their own ways, and I suspect improvise around it, the characters are given a texture and depth which is often lacking from film characters.  One of the most notable elements of this film is its portrayal of time. Time is what the film is all about, it's in the title, yet what may surprise many people is its non-linear portrayal of time, the film takes place in disjointed time. Disjointed time is not something new to Payne, in his play Constellations the characters similarly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cat On a Hot Tin Roof

  When: 12th December 2024 / 1st January 2025 Where: Almeida Theatre, London Writer: Tennessee Williams Director: Rebecca Frecknall I have now been fortunate enough to see this production twice. Being able to see it both in previews and deeper into its run, it was great to see how things have changed new pieces of direction and development in the actors understanding and performance.  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is, as you would expect from Tennessee Williams, masterfully written, revolving around the relationships between its characters, and finding drama in the tensions between them and the similarities in their flaws. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Kingsley Ben-Adir are the famous names in this cast, and unlike many productions that cast predominantly screen-famous actors they both feel well cast in their roles. Edgar-Jones captures Maggie's catty nature beautifully, in her Act 1 monologue she possesses just the right energy, understanding how to keep such a long and ranting speech captiv...
Post a Comment
Read more

ECHO (Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen)

  When: 19th July 2024  Where: The Royal Court Theatre, London Writer: Nassim Soleimanpour Director: Omar Elerian This production was unlike anything I have seen before. It is an experience not just for the audience but for the actors that take to the stage each night.  Soleimanpour's play is performed as a cold-read, unrehearsed with a different actor taking on the role each night, unaware of what is going to be asked of them. On our night Rebecca Lucy Taylor took on the role of the actor. Taylor is relatively new to acting and whilst I think many audience members will choose to see actors such as Fiona Shaw or Adrian Lester who are trained or have years of experience, I personally think Taylor's lack of training made the production even more raw and moving. Without this training Taylor fully allows herself to take the soul of the story onboard reacting genuinely and in real time, not trying in any way to perform. As an audience it felt as if we were going on the journe...
Post a Comment
Read more