Infinite Life - NT

[jadnoop]

Between lockdown and having a child, my theatre visits have been few and far between for a few years now. As a huge fan of Annie Baker’s past plays at the NT (The Flick is probably my favourite play I’ve seen in the last decade, and John was also wonderful), my expectations were sky high going into Infinite Life.

Perhaps a little too high.

Like the previous plays, the performances here were great; getting the right balance of quiet melancholy, with comedy that felt like a slightly heightened reality. I also enjoyed the little bits of fourth wall breaking (although I didn’t really get why they were so uneven). However it never really clicked together for me and, despite being shorter than The Flick and John, I found myself losing interest and -dare I say it- getting slightly bored.

So, all in all this didn’t quite work for me, but I can’t wait to see whatever she writes next.

[orchidman]

Annie Baker is one of those writers who should be made to write one well-made play to test if she could actually do it. What makes Picasso interesting is that he could paint beautifully but chose to pursue other lines of enquiry. Whereas Damien Hirst has a few good ideas but can't actually paint. I would suspect Baker is somewhere nearer to Hirst.

What we have here is the technique of opening with a very boring first 10 minutes so that the less boring minutes that follow feel more compelling and entertaining than they actually are. But it's less boring than The Flick because it doesn't go on all night.

It is a well-realised portrayal of contemporary American nihilism but it offers no exit ramp, or even the promise of one, which is surely the true calling for a contemporary American artist.

[jr]

Dec 3, 2023 23:22:11 GMT tmesis said:

It’s OK - not as good as The Flick but way better than John and The Antipodes (which was dire.) The numerous scenes in near darkness are unnecessary and tiresome and the huge pauses in the final scene between the bloke and the younger woman stretched credulity (I realise that ‘awkwardness’ is here shtick but maybe I’ve just had too much of it.)

Can’t fault the tip top performances though.

Glad to hear that. Going next week.
I loved The flick, liked bits of John, disliked The Antipodes (didn't see the point). I was a bit worried that this was going to follow the declining quality trend.

[Mark]

Front row perfect - zero restriction and very intimate.
Very subtle play but enjoyed overall. Some very harsh lighting when the scenes change, from dark to total brightness. Wasn’t too keen on some of the transitions.

Was engaged throughout and thought the actors were great.

[mkb]

Dec 22, 2023 21:49:09 GMT Mark said:

... Some very harsh lighting when the scenes change, from dark to total brightness. ...

I meant to say something about that.  Just when your own irises have expanded greatly to deal with the dimness, the sudden bright light (on at least three occasions) was causing everyone, at least those near the front, to have to blink and squint to cope for about ten seconds.  It was as if the lighting designer had a part-time sideline in sadism.

[stevemar]

This was ok. Once I got into the slow rhythm of it, as with John it was interesting enough. I can see how one might get more out of it with experience of the issues discussed. It was diverting enough at the time but hasn’t really stayed with me. I think I will give Annie Baker a miss next time, but I enjoyed the acting.

3.5 stars.

[andrew]

Dec 22, 2023 15:15:39 GMT orchidman said:

It is a well-realised portrayal of contemporary American nihilism but it offers no exit ramp, or even the promise of one, which is surely the true calling for a contemporary American artist.

I'm a big Annie Baker apologist, but I do think a conclusion would have helped nicely.

[joem]

Began well but after a few minutes it became clear there was little drama even if the theme was dramatic enough to hold out the promise of more. Sadly this is very one-paced, the characters are mostly uninteresting. I am pretty sure that this can be easily turned into a round table discussion on pain, such is its lack of dramatic tension. The droning pitch at which some of the most important speeches were delivered didn't help either.

As happens with many plays with a largely female cast and dealing with female issues suddenly The Man comes in and then the action seems to centre around him. Unfortunately this man was really not very interesting and did not warrant the attention proferred.

The last minutes of the play actually for me border on the distasteful.

SPOILER: Click to show

No you can't f*** your way out of chronic pain and it trivialises the suffering so many people are going through for the suggestion not to be quashed.

A miss for me.

[aspieandy]

Very strong, imo. Full of ideas, confident.

For those unaware, the clinical/medical setting is autophagy - very new, fascinating, difficult to explain without sounding like Star Trek. It will change the world more than the silicone chip.

Good fun to think about how this - unintentionally, accidentally - mirrors somewhat aspects of The Homecoming (just down the road).

[david]

Dec 22, 2023 21:49:09 GMT Mark said:

Front row perfect - zero restriction and very intimate.
Very subtle play but enjoyed overall. Some very harsh lighting when the scenes change, from dark to total brightness. Wasn’t too keen on some of the transitions.

Was engaged throughout and thought the actors were great.

Thanks for the info about the front row Mark. I had booked a row R gallery seat but have now swapped to a front row seat after getting in contact with the Box Office today.

[Mark]

Excellent david - you won’t regret it.

[bordeaux]

Having seen and enjoyed only moderately both The Flick and The Antipodes (too oblique, dialogue a little too desultory) I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I really got into the characters, their weirdness, the weirdness of the place they were in, the rhythm. I'm a long-term Philip Roth fan, so I thought little would shock me in terms of sex (what repelled my teenage daughters in Saltburn seemed fairly unshocking to me), but I did wonder whether the violence of one character's sexual fantasies was meant to be an insight into her damaged character or just an expression of normal sexual feelings in the next generation down.

[david]

After the misfire at the Lyttelton this afternoon, a short walk to the Dorfman this evening for a viewing of Annie Baker’s latest offering. Well, after the 95 minutes from my row A seat I really am not sure what to make of this one. A great view despite the horridly transitioning lighting design from Isabella Byrd which I definitely was not a fan of from where I was sat. 

This one is definitely a very slow burner and a lot of interesting themes and ideas surrounding pain are discussed by the 6 characters but without much tension or drama to go with them. I will say I think that you probably would have got more out of this one if you had personal experience or knew people who had about the different issues discussed. Though saying that this one was far more an enjoyable watch than my matinee show. It kept me engaged the entire time and I didn’t feel time drag thanks to the cast. I just wished Annie had done a bit more to tidy up the ending which I felt wasn’t the best. Another scene to wrap up would have been useful. 

[parsley1]

I did think this was utterly tedious

Shame Annie Baker doesn’t actually have that many interesting ideas

And that her plays are now becoming pretentious and a parody of themselves

I also agree this was a mockery of people who are in genuine pain and suffer illness

Perhaps it was trying to be a satire on the subject

If so it failed spectacularly and was incredibly shallow


People who are in genuine pain don’t wax lyrical and posture ad verbatim
It was also medically quite lacking and inaccurate factually

[aspieandy]

If it helps anyone, the last para of the NYT review of the original production (same cast) reads:

When first announced for 2021, the play was called “On the Uses of Pain for Life.” Understanding suffering, like understanding desire, may help us when we face it, or when others do, and with any luck afterward. Which, by the way, is what “Daniel Deronda,” past page 152, is about — and “Infinite Life” is always.

www.nytimes.com/2023/09/12/theater/infinite-life-review.html

[cavocado]

Jan 7, 2024 10:16:48 GMT aspieandy said:

If it helps anyone, the last para of the NYT review of the original production (same cast) reads:

When first announced for 2021, the play was called “On the Uses of Pain for Life.” Understanding suffering, like understanding desire, may help us when we face it, or when others do, and with any luck afterward. Which, by the way, is what “Daniel Deronda,” past page 152, is about — and “Infinite Life” is always.

www.nytimes.com/2023/09/12/theater/infinite-life-review.html

I wondered whether Daniel Deronda had a particular meaning within this play and am tempted to read it now. 

[aspieandy]

Wikipedia isn't particularly forthcoming on Daniel Deronda, though it is George Eliot - so considerable intellectual heft.

The entry does mention a "bifurcated structure" which suggests commonality with Infinite Life (the only exposition we appear to have concerns pain and pleasure, or indeed narrative).

It finishes this week and is sold out. I will probably try for a second viewing after the box office opens.

[aspieandy]

This was a rewarding second visit. First time around, I was probably flagging a little by the denouement between chief protagonist and older woman. The reveal lurks here (for example, spoiler here >> in search of pain-free renewal, an already frail old lady has been encouraged to continue her already extended fast). The older woman has much to impart and the empathy, even intimacy, between these two (mother and daughter age ranges) is striking.

I am clear now on much but still grouping in the dark a little at the role of sex addiction. I kind of get it but .. heh (is it just pleasure without addiction ..)

Annie Baker reveals her research by touching on cancer remission, counter-aging and mental renewal, while also covering the process; talking about the bakery smells, boredom, lack of focus, sleep, and time - which, to quote David Bowie, 'flexes like a whore' when in autophagous/fasting mode.

Overall: winner, winner, though no chicken dinner.

This has sold very swell - good to see the faithful returning to not just the NT main auditoriums but also the Dorfman. Come 4.30pm-ish, the main public areas were also very busy. I feel sure it had nothing at all to do with free warmth and wi fi

Looking forward to AB's next serving.

[lichtie]

Well it's hard to mistake this for anything other than an AB play... I couldn't help feeling that here that slid a bit too much into self-parody though. And despite being the shortest one I've seen of hers, it felt vaguely interminable - in part I realise that is part of the play itself given the long drawn out nature (to them) of the "cure" the characters are undergoing but it does mean it all gets a bit soporific...