The House of Bernarda Alba - Lyttleton (NT)

[lonlad]

Interesting. The one thing it certainly isn't is tedious given how charged every single moment (and corner of the stage) is. Her style in some ways works better here than on shows like ROMEO AND JULIET, to which BERNARDA is infinitely superior.

[theatrefan77]

I don't think this production deserves 3 stars, maybe 2 and that's being generous.

Frecknall's style over substance approach didn't work for me at all.

[parsley1]

I found as she is so taken with style and her own way

The text comes secondary to this

In this play it means there is a lack of explosive sexual tension

Other than some gyrating against a gate

I actually enjoyed the first half

After the interval despite it being only about 40 mins

It dragged and I found and tension had evaporated

The set was also distracting and did not evoke the presence of outside space or heat whatsoever

[parsley1]

Nov 30, 2023 16:17:04 GMT parsley1 said:

I found as she is so taken with style and her own way

The text comes secondary to this

In this play it means there is a lack of explosive sexual tension

Other than some gyrating against a gate

I actually enjoyed the first half

After the interval despite it being only about 40 mins

It dragged and I found and tension had evaporated

The set was also distracting and did not evoke the presence of outside space or heat whatsoever

The issue I find is that her “takes” on plays or musicals
Detract from the source material in a negative way

[Being Alive]

Interesting you say this, as I thought her productions of Cabaret, R&J and Streetcar were all brilliantly coherent and arguably the best productions of all of those shows I've seen for a long while...

[solotheatregoer]

Just back from this and not quite sure what to make of it. It is a bit of a mess and I found the frequent shouting and multiple conversations a bit migraine inducing at times, at least in the first 30 minutes or so whilst I tried to piece everything together. The pacing is slow but it does pick up in the second half of the first act.

There are some good performances here though and it was great to see Lizzie Annis back on stage (she was great in The Glass Menagerie last year too). It’s just a bit all over the place and needed to be a bit more cohesive when it came to the dialog.

Two stars.

[cartoonman]

Saw this on Monday, so I've had a time to thick about it. Basically it's another play about a dysfunctional family. Lots of swearing, & violence. Harriet Walter dominated the stage as the controlling matriarch but for me the actress playing the grandmother was outstanding. She was so like my own demented mother. I don't think I have given too much away. I liked the set but there were times when things were happening at several places at once. I went to see it as my girlfriend had it in her Spanish classes. I think it scores 3 stars with me.
I can't remember any music. The NT does great music so I thought that some Spanish music might be there.

[alessia]

I dont know what to do about this, I have a ticket but now I'm considering returning it.

[amyja89]

Dec 1, 2023 11:40:59 GMT alessia said:

I dont know what to do about this, I have a ticket but now I'm considering returning it.

Something like this that seems to be spanning the range of opinion is always worth seeing for oneself, I think. It's not like it is being universally slated or anything even close.

[mrnutz]

Dec 1, 2023 11:51:02 GMT amyja89 said:

Dec 1, 2023 11:40:59 GMT alessia said:

I dont know what to do about this, I have a ticket but now I'm considering returning it.

Something like this that seems to be spanning the range of opinion is always worth seeing for oneself, I think. It's not like it is being universally slated or anything even close.

Agreed. You may find something to love. You may find something to hate. But you will find... something.

[thistimetomorrow]

I quite liked this. The overlapping dialogue getting interwoven between scenes took a while to get used to (not helped by the fact that I was front row and so I couldn't see half of the scenes so I had no idea who was speaking lol), but I didn't think the play was a slog to get through or anything. Glad I caught it, but wish I had sat further back.

[G]

Dec 1, 2023 14:07:04 GMT thistimetomorrow said:

I quite liked this. The overlapping dialogue getting interwoven between scenes took a while to get used to (not helped by the fact that I was front row and so I couldn't see half of the scenes so I had no idea who was speaking lol), but I didn't think the play was a slog to get through or anything. Glad I caught it, but wish I had sat further back.

Yes I’ve had to rethink my strategy of going for the front seats after this - due to how the set is laid out, further back will absolutely be better. Have exchanged a few of my upcoming tickets at the Lyttelton to sit further back in case something similar happens.

Aside from this, absolutely loved the play. People may remark about Rebecca Frecknall’s mannerisms (dance, slow movements, thumping music) but oh do they work for me. Everything worked for me, but shoutout to Thusitha Jayasundera.

[Jan]

Dec 3, 2023 0:35:18 GMT G said:

Dec 1, 2023 14:07:04 GMT thistimetomorrow said:

I quite liked this. The overlapping dialogue getting interwoven between scenes took a while to get used to (not helped by the fact that I was front row and so I couldn't see half of the scenes so I had no idea who was speaking lol), but I didn't think the play was a slog to get through or anything. Glad I caught it, but wish I had sat further back.

Yes I’ve had to rethink my strategy of going for the front seats after this - due to how the set is laid out, further back will absolutely be better. Have exchanged a few of my upcoming tickets at the Lyttelton to sit further back in case something similar happens.

Aside from this, absolutely loved the play. People may remark about Rebecca Frecknall’s mannerisms (dance, slow movements, thumping music) but oh do they work for me. Everything worked for me, but shoutout to Thusitha Jayasundera.

I find her a very derivative director. Her mannerisms are all taken from other directors, you can check them off: the dance is Carrie Cracknell, the slow movement is Katie Mitchell and so on. That’s not to say she isn’t a good director but she isn’t innovative. And being a director with mannerisms risks the Richard Jones problem where they get applied irrespective of whether they are appropriate for the play or not.

[minion]

Because those elements are never seen in theatre anywhere else right? Frecknall has training as a dancer and worked as a movement director for a bit, so her sensibilities are entirely her own

[Jan]

Dec 3, 2023 11:00:10 GMT minion said:

Because those elements are never seen in theatre anywhere else right? Frecknall has training as a dancer and worked as a movement director for a bit, so her sensibilities are entirely her own

Those elements are currently seen in theatre all over, they are commonplace, they just happen to be fashionable now. To take a different example, the countdown clock (a comment up the thread suggests there is one here ? Probably not). I’d never seen that in any production at all until quite recently yet then I saw several productions use the idea. Those directors didn’t just independently come up with the idea. A genuinely innovative director used it first (was it Ivo Van Hove ?) and the rest followed. Same with slow-motion/speeded-up motion/backwards motion - never saw that before Katie Mitchell, now it’s everywhere.

[blaxx]

Dec 3, 2023 10:24:28 GMT Jan said:

Dec 3, 2023 0:35:18 GMT G said:

Yes I’ve had to rethink my strategy of going for the front seats after this - due to how the set is laid out, further back will absolutely be better. Have exchanged a few of my upcoming tickets at the Lyttelton to sit further back in case something similar happens.

Aside from this, absolutely loved the play. People may remark about Rebecca Frecknall’s mannerisms (dance, slow movements, thumping music) but oh do they work for me. Everything worked for me, but shoutout to Thusitha Jayasundera.

I find her a very derivative director. Her mannerisms are all taken from other directors, you can check them off: the dance is Carrie Cracknell, the slow movement is Katie Mitchell and so on. That’s not to say she isn’t a good director but she isn’t innovative. And being a director with mannerisms risks the Richard Jones problem where they get applied irrespective of whether they are appropriate for the play or not.

All directors' works are derivative against those standards. Being innovative should not be an artist's goal either.

I believe she has a unique voice, regardless of the inspirations she has built her work upon. If thousands of directors follow ancient methodologies religiously, I see no problem if a select few stray from the path; whether the approach is similar or not.

[shambles]

And van Hove is the director perhaps most derided for his trademarks, in a way that has grown out the sphere of just ardent theatregoers, no matter what technical innovations are ascribed to him.

Moreover, most of Frecknall's success particularly among the critics, is jotted down to her ability to reconceive or reframe characters and stories, whether you agree with that or not. And she has genuine sense for theatricality and ability to create striking visuals, so it is kind of obtuse to compare her to Carrie Cracknell of all people.

[nash16]

Lots of tickets including £20 stalls back for both shows being filmed performances for NTLive recording on Wednesday 13th December.

[stevemar]

I thought this was very good and held my attention thoughout.

Having read the thread, I came prepared for not much Spanish heat and the unnecessary f words from the adaptor Alice Birch.

I’m a big fan of Rebecca Frecknall’s work, having enjoyed Summer and Smoke, Streetcar and Cabaret. She was less successful here, but the use of slo-mo in one scene, colour changes and dance for Pepe worked well for me. What I think she brings though is an understanding of the characters and the best performances from her actors, so the director’s tricks aren’t imposed on the production for no effect.

4 stars

[jr]

I saw today's matinee. Harriet Walker was off sick and Celia Nelson played Bernarda. It was filmed but I doubt they will release this version with the understudy instead of the star of the show. Nelson's looks were very similar to Walker's and I assume also their performances.

Despite my initial misgivings, I did like it. It took 45 minutes or so for me to start believing it but then I started to get involved and the end of the first act was very powerful. The second act in my opinion is much better.

The acting is good. Adela is a bit too shouty but you get used to it; at the end of the day she is a hormonal teenager in love and lust for the first time. By far, my favourite was Thusitha Jayasundera playing Poncia, completely believable and truthful. She deserves an Olivier nomination.

Now with Bernarda. To me, she is not Lorca's Bernarda. Too contained and not menacing enough; when she roams around the house it looks more strolling inside Downtown Abbey that being in a house in a small provincial town in Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. The delivery of the lines is not strong enough. I don't think the problem is with the acting, more the director's choice.


Small clip in Spanish. Irene Gutiérrez Caba was an excellent Bernarda in the film adaptation. Elegant and scary.

The adaptation. I haven't read the script in a while but I wonder what Alice Birch's contributions are. Apart from adding the swearing (and I don't have a problem with swearing if appropriate), which be completely unacceptable in public or private in that type of household at that time, I cannot see any major changes or modernizations. It sounds more like getting rights for her now that Lorca's work is in the public domain (ditto Yerma). The language is well translated, not sure if it is her translation though.

The set is far too big. I was sitting in the middle of the stalls and could not see well what was happening on the third level. The majority of the action takes place on the 1st level, that would have been enough. Also it looks quite clinical, very unrealistic for a realistic play.

There are some minor details that I found annoying. No person in Spain uses the fans that way, it would not have been too difficult getting it right. They pronounce the Spanish names fairly well, except for some reason Amelia's (they do it the English way, not the Spanish one). Pepe el Romano is not usually shown in stage but I think here it works well. Some lines got laughs, I guess because they sound anachronic (and thanks for that) but they are not intended to be comic; the director should have been more careful with this and make sure they got the shock and disgust that should provoke.

I think it is a good production and worth seeing. Much better than the previous one at the NT adapted by David Hare with Penelope Wilton (that was really boring) but not a great one.

[merrilywereadalong]

Caught last night's performance. A show stop about 30 minutes into Act Two just after Poncia's scene with Bernarda, actors called to clear the stage and maybe a 15 minute or so pause followed by announcement from (i'm assuming) the stage manager that for the duration of the performance Georgia Silver would be playing Martirio. I missed completely if something happened that took her out but was a shame as I found Lizzie Annis to be a total standout in the first half. I think they finished as well they could and the audience certainly perked up after that (the understudy even getting her own individual bow and a very warm hand from both the crowd and cast) but it's tricky to sort of have the momentum interrupted like that.
I agree with the previous poster in that I found the first 30 minutes borderline obnoxious with the cacophony of dialogues which I found almost impossible to follow but once they decide to put that to bed the play settles into something that becomes quite gripping. Fantastic performances all around with particular shout outs to Lizzie Annis as mentioned, Pearl Chanda who although not given that much to do manages to make a lasting impression, Thusitha Jayasundera is just as phenomenal as everyone has said, I found her to be the perfect mix of FUNNY, fiery and completely worn down. I couldn't take my eyes off her. Harriet Walter I would definitely agree with the above poster in that she certainly isn't Lorca's Bernarda and while in the first act I had somewhat written her off for not being terrifying enough (or at all really) her performance grew on me and I found her quite fascinating by the end. 
A solid 4/5 for me. Not all of it works but what does is very strong.

that being said, the audience last night...started me off with my blood pressure racing as during the opening set reveal, with pepe dancing and the women all standing facing us head on, not one but TWO different people in different parts of the first three aisles, without a CARE in the world lifted their phones into the air and snapped away at the set and actors. One woman in particular I saw recorded the first 20 seconds , in direct view of the actors, third row scanning to get the scale of the set like it was for her IG story.  Absolutely appalling. Ushers must not have seen it but I was fuming (and stuck in the middle of the row too far away to say something) but the most delicious karma, one of the young ladies who was snapping away ending up getting stuck next to a pair who, my god, sounded like they were well into the third stage of Tuberculosis. CONSTANT, loud harsh coughing which you could clearly tell at the interval was getting on everyone's last nerves (I was frankly surprised the pair even came back or weren't individually spoken to or at least, i don't know, offered water?) The house manager came down to speak to the front section of the audience just before we started act two and while doing so spotted someone eating a sausage bun which she promptly confiscated. Was definitely a memorable night out

[jr]

So, 2 Bernardas and 2 Maritirios in the same day. I guess those filmed performances will have to be reshot.

[joem]

I am not a fan of "adaptations" where a minor living play wright or someone specialising in dramaturkey takes equal billing with a giant of the stage but Harriet Walter is one of our modern greats so I gave this a chance.

A splendid-looking stage but the dolls house effect ends up distracting from the action and adding little of substance beyond dumb-show gesturing. Harriet Walter is indeed very good as the austere, dictatorial matriarch but the action has not so much been extracted from its historical setting but left there, languishing in a misunderstood context. The continual swearing has already been mentioned - it is unthinkable that women in that type of household in that era in that country would have used a single expletive, there were plenty of euphemisms developed as a result. And there's the rub, this family - which is presented as some sort of freakshow in the production - would have been totally recognisable and fairly normal to at least half the population of Spain at the time. This is the context in the years before the Spanish Civil War where the conservatism of church and countryside clashed against the modernity of town and progress; the failure to reconcile or find a middle way led to a murderous war and regime which lasted forty years.

So this is not a simple tale of a frustrated set of daughters and an overbearing mother, this is a parable for a country on the verge of a cataclysm. But it is totally realistic, this is not poetry and this is not fantasy. What part of Lorca's own explanation of the nature of the play "Reality! Realism!" did the National's team fail to understand?

[Mr Crummles]

The reviews here helped me to prepare for this show. So I knew that I would not be getting an attempt to faithful recreate a Spanish Civil War scene. And this in a way helped me to free my mind of preconceived notions and enjoy the show for what it was.

Bernarda, the hardened, unbending, heartless Spanish matriarch, who commands her household with an iron fist, is indeed a bit unspanish, and so are many of the elements of the play. But that doesn't matter in this very lucid cautionary tale of what happens in a world where people believe in stagnant absolutes and think that traditions and old laws are rules never to be broken. We believe that we have left all this behind, but we haven't. Actually, puritanism seems to be back and excessive conservatism on the rise. A balance between old and news seems to be broken in our world.

The play shows the effects of this by exploring the repression in a household of bitter and resentful daughters, unhappily starved of affection, who hurt each other as desire haunts the place and oppressively pervades the air in the figure of Pepe, the coveted non-character that lurks about and robs the place of any peace. There is almost the same claustrophobic feel of Sartre’s Huis Clos (No Exit). Nobody can leave. Everyone lives in their own cell and come to clash in the common area of the living room. This is a house pulsating with vinegary discontent.

I thought the staging was magnificent with the non-stop action happening simultaneously in all rooms, giving the idea that the final tragedy results from the clash of all individual dramas taking place in different worlds.

The cast is very strong, and Harriet Walter seemed quite shaken at the final bows, just as I was.

[Being Alive]

Something about this just didnt work for me and unfortunately I think that thing was Harriet Walter.

Bernada should be someone that all of the daughters are actively terrified of, and I didn't get an ounce of that in Walter's performance, until the last 15 minutes but I didn't feel she'd earned any of it as her portrayal just doesn't work, and thus the centre of it (to me anyway) is wrong.
I'm a big fan of Harriet Walter in normal circumstances - she's usually a terrific actor - but something here just doesn't work.
I did sit there going "if they'd waited 10 years, and if we hadn't tragically lost her so young, Helen McCrory would have made this a performance for the ages"

Frecknell's style (for me) didn't work here either - the four conversations going on simultaneously in different rooms and the cutting across just does not work at all and it took me too long to tune into the style of the show, and the movement to me just felt at odds with the piece.
Design also didn't help -it's lovely to look at, but it's designed in such a way that basically every seat in the Lyttleton cannot see at least one of the rooms which was...odd.

We had cover Adela who I thought was very good.
I give this 3 stars because I applauded what they are attempting to do, and I guess in some ways eventually it works, but with a miscast centre performance the whole thing is quite uneven.