The Night Season, Buried Child And The History Boys

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Assignment 3:

 The Night Season, Buried Child

And The History Boys

Varun Aswani

The London Stage

15th December 2004

The Royal National Theatre receives financial assistance from Arts Council England. With aid from the Arts Council, the National Theatre tends to show theatre that does not attract audiences for grossing profits; however, they provide thought provoking plays which are brilliant pieces of art. With that in mind, it so happens that more than half its income is self-generated. I had the opportunity to enjoy three productions; The Night Season, Buried Child and The History Boys.

        Rebecca Lenkiewicz's Night Season is a new play that takes you on what you think will be a familiar journey, but offers pleasant little surprises at almost every turn. Her characters are three generations of a disputatious Irish family in County Sligo. One wouldn’t think, though, that this household had much to humour about, however we are entertained by continuous swearing and uncontrollable laughter. The play is set in a modern studio theatre with one main set used in different acts as different environments. The lighting is set to a cosy mood to make one feel part of this close-knit family. The play begins by introducing us to grandmother Lily. Lily has been given a few months to live, feckless dad Patrick is a champion boozer, while his three daughters, Judith, Rose and Maud haven’t got over their mother’s desertion of the family 15 years earlier and their constant romantic problems.

        But they clearly all love each other very much; all share a joy in life, and actually get along pretty well. A good example of this occurs when father says with sarcastic cheer, 'There are no problems in this house, only disasters'.

The set is very uniquely utilized throughout the production. The production moves fluently between the play’s various locations in and around the family’s home. The kitchen, where Lily patiently watches TV with the sound down, becomes a beach, where she dances on the sand with John and Rose. The library where Judith works occupies the space taken earlier by the pub. Mark’s house is also used in the same location as the pub, with a table and a bed displaying its purpose. Another unique set design was the presence of a vertical come 3-D bed on top the girls’ room where Patrick slept. Imagery portrayed when we were introduced to Patrick when the play begins was fantastic. Audience members can actually see Patrick being sucked into the bed and out of his room from the balcony of the set.

An American actor, John, comes to town to shoot a film and stays with them rather than at a hotel, to soak up local flavour. Inevitably, he sleeps with one of the daughters, Rose. Ironically, he carries on a charming, sincere little mock romance with Lily. Patrick, meanwhile, gets a date with the local barmaid and Judith seeks solace from her chess-playing ex, Mark.

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We learn true family values in various scenes throughout the play. Patrick and his daughters have a special relationship together, in particular with Judith. He and Judy were involved in a scene at the bar when both father-daughter enjoy a night out drunk together. Patrick decides to leave her at Mark’s place at the end of the night as he knows that she has strong feelings for him. Although Maud is not one the central characters in the play, she is involved in a vital part of the play. The audience never witnesses the daughters’ relationship with their mother throughout ...

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