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London Spy: Ben Whishaw, dreamy lover/genius Ed Holcroft and sage Jim Broadbent
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/t-magazine/entertainment/ben-whishaw-crucible-broadway.html
ENTERTAINMENT
Ben Whishaw
on His Surprisingly Modern ‘Crucible’ Role
By ADRIENNE GAFFNEY
MARCH 17, 2016
Given that Ben Whishaw first garnered rave reviews as Hamlet at London’s Old Vic a full 12 years ago, it’s surprising to learn that this month marks the 35-year-old actor’s first time gracing a Broadway stage. For admirers of Whishaw’s work in cult favorites like “Bright Star,” BBC’s “The Hour” and the recent series “London Spy,” the wait was worth it: His role as John Proctor in “The Crucible” puts Whishaw’s distinctive British imprint on Arthur Miller’s iconic American role.
If the venue is a new one, the role, at least, is familiar to Whishaw: He played Proctor, a farmer whose affair with a local woman incites the Salem witch trials, in a school production as a teenager in England. “It was interesting to read it when I was 35 again and to discover many layers of things that I hadn’t understood as a teenager,” he says. “It just feels much more complicated now. Much more ambiguous, much more painful than I had understood then. When I was young, the witch-hunt element of it is very exciting and, somehow, for a school kid, accessible. You understand that kind of mentality and the forcing of conformity on people. But there was lots, well, practically everything else, that I didn’t understand.”
After putting the text to rest after his school years, Whishaw thought little of it. “Maybe I had a feeling a little bit like it was very American and slightly inaccessible,” he says. This production, which has a heavily European cast that includes the British Sophie Okonedo as well as Saoirse Ronan and Ciarán Hinds, both from Ireland, addresses this concern uniquely. Its director, Ivo van Hove, focuses on the universal themes of intolerance and rumor in Miller’s play, removing it from its New England setting and conveying no clues to its time or setting through costume or scenery. “We could, in this production, be anywhere,” Whishaw says. “Sophie Okenedo and myself were doing American accents for the whole of the rehearsal period, and then two previews in, Ivo asked us just to do it in our own voices — and that’s really changed things.” (Van Hove achieved a similar effect with his stark revival of Miller’s “A View From the Bridge” on Broadway last fall.)
For Whishaw, this production’s more universal feel makes its parallels to modern life even more striking. ”The fact that we’re in an election at the moment here seems to speak to the play, or the play seems to speak to that situation,” he says. “One of the things that’s very frightening in the play is how something very small, apparently very small, petty, inconsequential can assume an importance for a community — to the point that it’s completely blown out of all proportion and hysteria takes over.”
“The Crucible” plays March 31 – July 17 at Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., New York, thecrucibleonbroadway.com.
Aloysius J. Gleek:
--- Quote from: Aloysius J. Gleek on March 17, 2016, 09:34:16 pm ---http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/17/t-magazine/entertainment/ben-whishaw-crucible-broadway.html
Its director, Ivo van Hove, focuses on the universal themes of intolerance and rumor in Miller’s play, removing it from its New England setting and conveying no clues to its time or setting through costume or scenery. “We could, in this production, be anywhere,” Whishaw says. “Sophie Okenedo and myself were doing American accents for the whole of the rehearsal period, and then two previews in, Ivo asked us just to do it in our own voices — and that’s really changed things.” (Van Hove achieved a similar effect with his stark revival of Miller’s “A View From the Bridge” on Broadway last fall.)
--- End quote ---
Sigh. I saw the very first preview on Tuesday, March 1, and then just less than a week later, Monday 7.
"--and then two previews in, Ivo asked us just to do it in our own voices — and that’s really changed things.”
It certainly did. What a shame. The first night was powerful. The second time--the production, as a whole, was a disappointment. Something I blame entirely on the director--he had made something heartbreaking, and he made it--kind of pedestrian. Even--weak. (I'm pointing at the director, thinking "Goddamn mule!")
I have lots more to say about it--and Whishaw's performances--but it will take some brain processing before I can post it. More than a week later, and I'm not yet up for it. I'm even thinking of going and see it for a third time. But. I will say that, on the second visit, at the very last scene, Whishaw was electrifying. More than electrifying. At one moment, I thought the actor Ciarán Hinds (and NOT his character, Deputy Governor Danforth) looked frightened for his friend Ben Whishaw, not his condemned prisoner, John Proctor.
Jeff Wrangler:
I like Ben with a beard. I think it gives him a more mature look.
Aloysius J. Gleek:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on March 17, 2016, 11:08:42 pm ---I like Ben with a beard. I think it gives him a more mature look.
--- End quote ---
Oh, I definitely agree. But remember my own critique review of the production, from the first night of previews (March 1)--and now sigh deeply for the loss of Ben Whishaw/John Proctor's American accent.
:( :'(
--- Quote from: Aloysius J. Gleek on March 02, 2016, 02:29:03 am ---
The Crucible on Broadway. First night of previews. Modern dress. (Well, not Puritan drag shown in the poster, that's for sure.) All members of the mixed cast (Brits/Irish/Americans) all use 'American' accents credibly well. There are issues--bit choppy beginning, and Philip Glass score a bit intrusive.
But--Ben as farmer John Proctor was amazing. When he first walked on--woah. Sexy as hell. No 'bedraggled fragile alien' vibe at all. Small, yes, but contained, compact, lithe, powerful. Lowering, bushy brows. Hot boots. Manly. The American accent was a revelation. It changes his voice--a young, clear tone that travels through the entire theater, cuts through the clutter of the Philip Glass murmuring and the much less distinctive voices of some of the other actors. Towards the end, when he is stripped and barefoot, nearly broken, torn and bloodied, the old Whishaw fragility has definitely reemerged, but as always, he is brave and truthful and believable.
--- End quote ---
Aloysius J. Gleek:
Meanwhile--
MARCH 1 2016
http://kanaorange.tumblr.com/tagged/Ben-Whishaw
http://simonwolfgard.tumblr.com/post/140176951452/saoirse-ronan-and-ben-whishaw-in-rehearsals-for
simonwolfgard:
Saoirse Ronan and Ben Whishaw in rehearsals for The Crucible on Broadway
2 WEEKS AGO 3,539 notes
#ben whishaw #saoirse ronan #saoirseedit #ivo van hove #the crucible
#mine #two more days people
#woohooooo i roped my friend into coming lololol
#and i hope she knows we'll try to stagedoor it even though i imagine the actors won't be up for it
#500 notes #1000 notes #2000 notes #3000 notes
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