A Day By the Sea at the Mint Theatre

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 7/25/16 at 6:44pm

The Mint Theatre constantly puts on great productions, and A Day By the Sea is no exception. It's long and slow, but really carefully put together and beautifully told. It kind of reminds me of what The Snow Geese wanted to be (a more modern Chekhovian drama), but less dull. The performers are all wonderful, and the Mint has a way of getting actors to say old-fashioned dialogue and make it sound natural. Perhaps if others saw this production, they could post their thoughts in this thread.

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 9:20pm

Nobody else saw this?

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/17/16 at 7:11am

Yes, I saw it, and the theater was full when I did.  I agree with all that you say.  This is a lovely production of a play I had never heard of.  Beautifully directed, richly performed and well-produced all around.  Austin Pendleton, his cast and The Mint's production team have put their trust in simplicity, and it pays off.

I would not say that it is slow so much as leisurely paced.  And as you say, it is not dull.  Its well-written scenes have the right accumulative effect, keeping us fully involved.

N.C. Hunter was plainly influenced by Chekhov, and in that the play makes a perfect English bookend to "Heartbreak House."

[Theater3232]

Posted: 8/18/16 at 9:40am

What a huge bore - 3 hours (including 2 intermissions) of nonstop talk, talk, talk.  They could have easily cut it down to 90 minutes or less.  The actors were all "repertory actors" (the people you see doing regional theater, etc) and it showed.  Many people didn't last after the first and/or the second intermissions. Life is short - why sit through a badly acted boring 3 hour play?

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/18/16 at 9:59am

Well, 2 up, 1 down??

No one left before it ended on Tuesday, for what it's worth.

Updated On: 8/18/16 at 09:59 AM

[Harriet Craig]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 11:58am

I have seen everything the Mint has done for at least the last 12 years, and I would rank this somewhere in the middle of the pack:  worthwhile, but not in the same category as the very best Mint productions, like London Wall, or the previous play they did by N.C. Hunter, Pictures of Autumn. The main problem, for me, was the play's complete predictability. I don't require a lot of melodramatic plot twists in a play, but it would have been nice if, by 10:30, something that couldn't have been foreseen by about 7:45 had happened. Still, getting from Point A to Point B was a pleasant journey, if not a terribly exciting one.

I thought the acting was all fine, except that the actor who played the doctor was directed to play him as over-the-top unhinged. I know the doctor was supposed to be an unstable character, but from the moment he appeared onstage, he came across as someone you would move away from if you found yourself in the same subway car with him, which I somehow don't think is how we were meant to see the doctor.

 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 3:44pm

The play is a mixed bag. A slow, talky-burn with not much dramatic tension. However, there's some lovely work done by Mint regulars and new-comers. Polly McKie as the love-struck Governess stands out with a beautiful scene reminiscent of one from Inge's Picnic. It's a lovely performance, with great heart, and her big scene is the most riveting of the night.

[BakerWilliams]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 3:46pm

I agree that it might not be their best play (flashback to me sobbing during Fashions for Men), but it is certainly a lovely evening of theatre and Mint productions rarely get a full thread on this board, so I think raising awareness of their plays is always good to do.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 8/19/16 at 3:54pm

Couldn't agree more. Their production of WOMEN WITHOUT MEN last season was sublime and must-see theatre, in my opinion.