SITE GUIDE
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Jordan G. Teicher
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a tale of class, youth and authority written originally as a short story by Alan Sillitoe. A film by the same name premiered in 1962, catapulting the career of its star, Tom Courtenay, and helping usher in the British New Wave.
Roy Williams' theater adaptation, which is now making its US debut after a production in London, puts the story's universality and elasticity to the test. While the transition to stage is a bit bumpy at times, the roots of the drama remain intact, making this a story worth re-telling.
The building blocks are the same— a teenager, Colin Smith (Sheldon Best), ends up in prison school after committing a petty crime. He turns to long distance running for a sense of freedom, but finds himself at a moral crossroads when he's asked by a government administrator, Stevens (Todd Weeks), to race against private school students.
In Williams' update, these events are set against the backdrop of the 2011 riots, partially a response by the young "lost generation" to unchecked unemployment. David Cameron, seen on the television here preaching the need for a "culture of responsibility," is the face of a ruling class that seems hopelessly out of touch.
In this production Colin is directionless, more interested in hanging out and committing small crimes with his friend Jase (Joshua E. Nelson) and chasing girls like Kenisha (Jasmine Cephas Jones) than looking for a job. Under Leah C. Gardiner's direction, Best brings a sprightliness and energy to Colin, making him more of an "aimless young man" than an angry one, as he's been portrayed previously. It might seem a bit foreign for those familiar with Courtenay's brooding performance, but Best does service to this interpretation of the character.
Generally, the action moves along swiftly as Colins runs that final race, moving back in time to show us the reasons for his arrest, clashes with his recently widowed mother, and his romance with Kenisha. At times, however, the Williams' dialogue falls flat, particularly in Colins' internal monologues throughout the race. "Trot, trot. Puff, puff, puff. Slap, slap, slap, go my feet on the hard soil. Swish, swish, swish as my arms and side catch the bare branches of a bush," he says. Best manages to make those line work, but I'm not sure exactly how.
He also seems up to the role's physical challenges, which include fight scenes with bully Luke (Patrick Murney), push-ups and some pretty impressive cardio. Unlike the London production, which used a 25-foot treadmill for the running sequences, the New York production requires Best to run in place in front of video projections, a feat that requires a bit of magic to pull off without awkwardness. Other staging choices can't be saved. As Best runs, he flashes back to snippets of dialogue from family friends, who appear in the background, lit by solitary spotlights. Think the ghostly voices and floating faces of a cartoon nightmare. Not pretty.
The play, and Best, are at their most genuine when exploring Colins' deeper feelings. Those come best in his slipshod relationship with Kenisha (due, perhaps, to a natural and charming performance by Jones). His frustration, meanwhile, emerges in earnest in a final confrontation with Stevens about British society and his place in it. That conversation constitutes the meat of the ideological argument at the heart of the play, but it comes a bit late and a bit muddled.
It's unclear how exactly we're meant to understand Colin in relation to the rioters, whom he never quite joined but with whom he shares sympathies. At the play's conclusion, Colin himself seems no surer about the direction of his fate. He knows only that he'll be going it alone.
| "Well give us something new then, Come on. You're the grown ups. Give us something new. Give us something new. Fight for us man, School us."
"— Colin
|
(L-R) Sheldon Best and Jasmine Cephas Jones (Photo by Ahron Foster).
|
Roy Williams' theater adaptation, which is now making its US debut after a production in London, puts the story's universality and elasticity to the test. While the transition to stage is a bit bumpy at times, the roots of the drama remain intact, making this a story worth re-telling.
The building blocks are the same— a teenager, Colin Smith (Sheldon Best), ends up in prison school after committing a petty crime. He turns to long distance running for a sense of freedom, but finds himself at a moral crossroads when he's asked by a government administrator, Stevens (Todd Weeks), to race against private school students.
In Williams' update, these events are set against the backdrop of the 2011 riots, partially a response by the young "lost generation" to unchecked unemployment. David Cameron, seen on the television here preaching the need for a "culture of responsibility," is the face of a ruling class that seems hopelessly out of touch.
In this production Colin is directionless, more interested in hanging out and committing small crimes with his friend Jase (Joshua E. Nelson) and chasing girls like Kenisha (Jasmine Cephas Jones) than looking for a job. Under Leah C. Gardiner's direction, Best brings a sprightliness and energy to Colin, making him more of an "aimless young man" than an angry one, as he's been portrayed previously. It might seem a bit foreign for those familiar with Courtenay's brooding performance, but Best does service to this interpretation of the character.
Generally, the action moves along swiftly as Colins runs that final race, moving back in time to show us the reasons for his arrest, clashes with his recently widowed mother, and his romance with Kenisha. At times, however, the Williams' dialogue falls flat, particularly in Colins' internal monologues throughout the race. "Trot, trot. Puff, puff, puff. Slap, slap, slap, go my feet on the hard soil. Swish, swish, swish as my arms and side catch the bare branches of a bush," he says. Best manages to make those line work, but I'm not sure exactly how.
He also seems up to the role's physical challenges, which include fight scenes with bully Luke (Patrick Murney), push-ups and some pretty impressive cardio. Unlike the London production, which used a 25-foot treadmill for the running sequences, the New York production requires Best to run in place in front of video projections, a feat that requires a bit of magic to pull off without awkwardness. Other staging choices can't be saved. As Best runs, he flashes back to snippets of dialogue from family friends, who appear in the background, lit by solitary spotlights. Think the ghostly voices and floating faces of a cartoon nightmare. Not pretty.
The play, and Best, are at their most genuine when exploring Colins' deeper feelings. Those come best in his slipshod relationship with Kenisha (due, perhaps, to a natural and charming performance by Jones). His frustration, meanwhile, emerges in earnest in a final confrontation with Stevens about British society and his place in it. That conversation constitutes the meat of the ideological argument at the heart of the play, but it comes a bit late and a bit muddled.
It's unclear how exactly we're meant to understand Colin in relation to the rioters, whom he never quite joined but with whom he shares sympathies. At the play's conclusion, Colin himself seems no surer about the direction of his fate. He knows only that he'll be going it alone.
|
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Written by Alan Sillitoe Stage adaptation by Roy Williams Directed by Leah C. Gardiner Cast: Eshan Bay (Asher), Sheldon Best (Colin), Zainab Jah (Mum), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Kenisha), Patrick Murney (Policeman/Luke), Joshua E. Nelson (Jase), Sydney Sainte (Guard 2/Sandra), Raviv Ullman (Guard 1/Gunthorpe), Todd Weeks (Stevens), Malik Yoba (Colin's Dad/Trevor) Set Design: Lauren Helpern Sound Design: Bart Fasbender Lighting Design: Michael Chybowski Projection Design: Pauline Lu and Paul Piekarz Costume Design: Bobby Frederick Tilley II Production Manager: Janet Takami Fight Consultant: J. David Brimmer Running Time: 80 minutes Atlantic Stage 2, 330 W 16th St., New York, NY 10011 Atlantictheater.org, Tickets at web.ovationtix.com Beginning 1/8/2014, Opens 1/21/2014, Ends 2/9/2014 Performance times: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm Ticket cost: $45 Reviewed by Jordan G. Teicher at 1/19/2014 performance. |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted add http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter Subscribe to our FREE email updates: E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message. If you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. |
|
Book of Mormon -CD