Review: LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, Golden Goose Theatre

Some plays are untouchable. Untouchable in the sense that they are so intricate and have such depth to them that very few dare to crack into it out of fear of not being able to meet the emotional levels required for it. Long Day’s Journey Into Night is one of those plays. Too infamous to accept the challenge. Especially not by a group of actors in their 20’s. Until now. 

The New Rep Theatre Co. is back for their play of the month with Eugene O’Neill’s dynamic four-character play, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, directed by John Kurzynowski.

Set in a rehearsal room with the cast sitting as though they are just actors who are preparing for a script read, the lines between character and reality seem to blur as the play develops. There’s no set. No costumes. Just four actors and a ‘director’. Five chairs and a table. And an emotional maturity I’ve never seen with a cast so young. 

With a unique concept that has hardly been done before, the cast focuses on playing the emotion and circumstances, rather than physically embodying a character, opting to play the characters as their age rather than older people in a demographic that is not their own. 

With each of the cast members bouncing off of each other beautifully, all while perfectly casted, it is so interesting to see them change themselves in real time and become the character, all while never fully losing who they are in real life. 

The play tells of the Tyrone family. A household, though Mary insists otherwise, of actors, drunks, and the sick, all while hiding behind the façade of money, summer houses, and high-cost education (although none of them seem to have used it). As the family come to terms with Mary’s addiction and decreasing mental state, they also need to prepare themselves for the results of the youngest son’s medical exam. Leaving the constant question of whether the money-tight father, James, will finally put some of his wealth to use in aid of his son’s treatment. 

James Tyrone is an Irish-born actor who started with nothing at all. No money. No home. And a family that consisted of a single mother and several siblings who all had to work from before the age of 10. Played incredibly by Patrick Ward, whose sense of self deteriorates as his own accent starts to turn into the liquid sound of Irish. It is truly a stunning performance from the young actor, one James Tyrone would’ve been proud of. 

His two sons, Jamie and Edmund, are played by David Knight and Ross Gordon, respectively. Jamie is the oldest with a need for self destruction, a bottle of anything he sees, and a love for his little brother that runs so deep it almost kills him. Whereas Edmund is “the baby”, and is literally fighting for his life. 

Both actors embody their parts with such passion and intensity that you can't not watch them when they are together. Knight, who is the company's Artistic Director and usually the director of the pieces, takes to the stage this time to showcase his own impeccable acting ability, proving that sometimes the best directors are also actors first and foremost. Gordon is no less talented and creates a great balance in the cast. Both actors have the perfect brotherly-bond that adds a lot of warmth to the play.

Whatmore stands in as the added character of the ‘Director’ while reading the stage directions to compliment the world the Director has created with his setting. All while being incorporated into the world himself as a mediator or God-like figure. A very enjoyable watch. 

A perfect example of raw talent is Molly-May Paterson in the role of Mary, the mother of the family, who spends her time alone and needing of real love. At only 25-years-old, Paterson steals the attention of audiences for not only being the only female in the cast, but also for being the first of the cast to start the transition into what isn’t fully real. 
Similarly to how Mary loses her mind throughout the text, Paterson begins to gain the concern of her cast-mates as she starts to lack her own self of being. Her acting is breathtaking. Being able to have that much emotional understanding about a set of circumstances that she herself has never endured, all while giving a performance that could rival that of some of the West End greats, Paterson has audiences in an awe and heartbreak chokehold. 

Kurzynowski’s direction is fresh and fitting for this intense piece. Creating a balance between breaking the fourth wall and building it up is a hard task with a play such as this, but his directorial style matches the energy perfectly. I hope to see more of the collaboration bewteen The New Rep and Kurzynowski.

At three hours long, this play is a lot to take in at once. It is normal for The New Rep to cut a lot of the text, but it seems to be a Director’s choice to retain the entire script. Although some cuts to the end to quicken the pace and tension could be looked into, the acting is so strong, time does not drag. 

This beautifully heartbreaking adaptation is undoubtedly one to watch from the young actors.