No such thing as bad publicity...
Got the Tribune review today. It's not a bad review by any means, but after such grand praise from the Reader, anything is going to feel like a bit of a let-down.
`Permanent Way' finds its path
By Nina Metz
Special to the Tribune
Published February 9, 2007
Of David Hare's two 2004 plays, the one that made big news in the U.S. was "Stuff Happens," about the behind-the-scenes political maneuverings that led to the war in Iraq. In it our president's motives are dissected and picked over--by a Brit, no less!--and it should surprise no one the play generated American interest, and subsequent American productions.
Americans are perhaps less attuned to the tragedies, incompetence and systemic failures that befell the British rail system recently--which might explain why "The Permanent Way," Hare's other documentary-style play from 2004, is only now receiving its U.S. debut.
Remarkably enough it is not one of Chicago's major players but tiny New Leaf Theatre (in residence at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center) that nabbed the rights first--quite a coup for the young company.
Based on interviews conducted by the original nine-member cast in Britain, "The Permanent Way" traces the corporate fatuousness and human error that led to four catastrophic train crashes over a short span of time. We also get up-close-and-personal accounts of the lives of both victims and survivors.
Most likely, the problems started with the privatization of the British rail system in the 1990s, when one series of companies was awarded the rights and responsibilities to maintain the tracks, while another was in charge of the trains; "the Balkanization of the railways," as one character so aptly puts it.
The two-hour play (performed without intermission) is bogged down early by the necessary minutiae of reportage. The cast, under Brandon Ray's direction, doesn't declare the material its own until the script arrives at the first crash. This is when you first notice Dominic Green (the ensemble's one English actor), in a splendid turn as the Squadron Leader, a practical policeman who arrives at the scene and cuts through bureaucratic baloney. Dana Black and Erin Shelton, as bereaved mothers, are also quite good. Marsha Harmon portrays a survivor who covers facial burns behind a mask, and is affecting, as well. There is real honesty in these performances, especially the befuddled agony when confronted with the cover-your-butt response from those in charge.
If one thing holds this production back, it is New Leaf's space. Unlike a standard black box, the small, wood-paneled room does not fade into the background so much as present a constant distraction. There is something monotonous about the environment that neither the lighting by Jared B. Moore nor the kinetic blocking can overcome.
Through March 3 at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West. Tickets are $15 at 773-828-4387.
Overall, it speaks pretty well of us, and it makes the play sound like an exciting event. I just wish critics wouldn't get hung up on our space. We do our plays there because they give us a really good financial deal. Sure we wish we could have a black box. But we can't afford a black box. We do good theatre in a public space because the Park District has been generous with us and has kept us afloat.
But anyway, yeah. Pretty good review.
`Permanent Way' finds its path
By Nina Metz
Special to the Tribune
Published February 9, 2007
Of David Hare's two 2004 plays, the one that made big news in the U.S. was "Stuff Happens," about the behind-the-scenes political maneuverings that led to the war in Iraq. In it our president's motives are dissected and picked over--by a Brit, no less!--and it should surprise no one the play generated American interest, and subsequent American productions.
Americans are perhaps less attuned to the tragedies, incompetence and systemic failures that befell the British rail system recently--which might explain why "The Permanent Way," Hare's other documentary-style play from 2004, is only now receiving its U.S. debut.
Remarkably enough it is not one of Chicago's major players but tiny New Leaf Theatre (in residence at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center) that nabbed the rights first--quite a coup for the young company.
Based on interviews conducted by the original nine-member cast in Britain, "The Permanent Way" traces the corporate fatuousness and human error that led to four catastrophic train crashes over a short span of time. We also get up-close-and-personal accounts of the lives of both victims and survivors.
Most likely, the problems started with the privatization of the British rail system in the 1990s, when one series of companies was awarded the rights and responsibilities to maintain the tracks, while another was in charge of the trains; "the Balkanization of the railways," as one character so aptly puts it.
The two-hour play (performed without intermission) is bogged down early by the necessary minutiae of reportage. The cast, under Brandon Ray's direction, doesn't declare the material its own until the script arrives at the first crash. This is when you first notice Dominic Green (the ensemble's one English actor), in a splendid turn as the Squadron Leader, a practical policeman who arrives at the scene and cuts through bureaucratic baloney. Dana Black and Erin Shelton, as bereaved mothers, are also quite good. Marsha Harmon portrays a survivor who covers facial burns behind a mask, and is affecting, as well. There is real honesty in these performances, especially the befuddled agony when confronted with the cover-your-butt response from those in charge.
If one thing holds this production back, it is New Leaf's space. Unlike a standard black box, the small, wood-paneled room does not fade into the background so much as present a constant distraction. There is something monotonous about the environment that neither the lighting by Jared B. Moore nor the kinetic blocking can overcome.
Through March 3 at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center, 2045 N. Lincoln Park West. Tickets are $15 at 773-828-4387.
Overall, it speaks pretty well of us, and it makes the play sound like an exciting event. I just wish critics wouldn't get hung up on our space. We do our plays there because they give us a really good financial deal. Sure we wish we could have a black box. But we can't afford a black box. We do good theatre in a public space because the Park District has been generous with us and has kept us afloat.
But anyway, yeah. Pretty good review.