Last updated: 15 July 2023
Was it just me? Maybe everyone loved it. Maybe I just missed the point completely and it was a truly gripping piece of theatre that was worth the time to go watch it… however if the guy to my right who nodded off and the women to my left who kept checking her watch are any indicators to go by then perhaps it just wasn’t me and The Hairy Ape may have missed the mark.
The Hairy Ape is a 1922 play by Eugene O’Neill which explores the themes of the exploitation of the working class, the superficial nature of the rich and the elite, and the search for identity and community. Some could argue that these are theme are universal and just as relevant now as they were 93 years ago (with the exception of the scenes with the Socialists). If the themes are still relevant then why did I (and the others sitting near me) fail to connect with any part of it?
What I expected to see was a gripping exploration of Man and his struggle to find his identify in a world that has no place for him and what I sat through was a disjointed production that left me feeling cold towards the protagonist and perhaps even a little apathetic. Disappointing to say the very least because I wanted to like it, I really wanted to like it. I wanted to leave the theatre, reach for my phone and tweet just how amazing it was but all I ended up tweeting with was “it wasn’t for me”.
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Stopping by the pub on the way home I kept thinking about the last 90 min and trying to identify what was it that I didn’t like, what was my biggest complaint? I think ultimately it all comes down to a lack of empathy towards Yank, I just didn’t find myself caring about him or his plight one way or the other. I couldn’t identify with his struggles, his reactions (despite the themes being universal) and by the end I found myself wanting the play to just hurry up and reach its inevitable (and pretty obvious) ending.
That’s not to say that the performances were poor, not at all. I thought that Bertie Carvel who played Yank delivered an intense, and in parts, a measured performance. There was no doubt that he gave it his all and that Yank was a powerhouse of a character. However despite Mr Carvel’s commitment in bringing Yank to life, I felt that the character remained a little one dimensional.
Another personal highlight was some of the set design. The design and staging of the opening scenes were outstanding! How it is possible to use a single shipping container on stage and bring the bowels of a transatlantic ocean liner to life in such a way that you could almost feel the heat of the engines and claustrophobic conditions that the men worked in?! The staging and direction of those scenes in the passenger ship were, for me, the absolute highlight of the play.
Unfortunately, the highlights were few and far between and soon enough I was again struggling to remain engaged with the story. There were times throughout the play where I felt like turning to the guy next to me and asking “what am I watching?” or “who are they?” or “what’s going on?” and I might have asked too if he wasn’t nodding off… so instead I sat there doing my best trying to piece it together.
There’s a scene where Yank is surrounded by the faceless rich and elite and the actors wore bags (well, they looked like bags but might have been faceless masks) on their heads that had stitched or drawn facial expressions on it and they wandered around the stage bumping into each other repeating over and over “Oh, excuse me”. It was at this point that I replayed my day in my head and confirmed that I did not have any type of suspicious mushroom before entering the theatre. At least that would have made a little more sense to me.
It’s entirely possible that my expectations clouded my opinion and judgement of the play.. however unless everyone else sitting near me had the same expectations I’d say it’s pretty fair to say that The Hairy Ape failed at connecting with its audience.
Would I recommend The Hairy Ape?
We are spoiled for choice in London with so many large and small productions, big names, no names, award winners, and everything in between so maybe skip this one and see what else is on offer.
The Essentials | The Hairy Ape
When: 17 Oct – 21 Nov 2015
Where: The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 8NB
Transport: Nearest Tube stations are Waterloo & Southwark. A myriad of buses are available from Waterloo.
Cost: Tickets from £12.
Verdict: It’s a 2*
Hi,Note: Apologies if this is super lengthy.As a fellow theatre nerd (from US), I can understand the reactions—but o’neill purposefully I believe refuses an emotional connection with the audience with the inaudible dialogue and deliberately expressionist style to convey a sense of alienation from the industrialized world—I have not seen this production, but it did go off broadway with bobby cannavale as yank, and it’s been fixed up a bit. A theory on why this play is so polarizing: Thing is, this is early o’neill, when he was aggressively. experimental, and he did not care what anyone else thought. But this was before he delved into more conventional work that everyone loves, like long day’s journey into night (I saw a FANTASTIC production of that at the BAM Harvey theater in Brooklyn, and it was also from the old Vic), a moon for the misbegotten, the iceman cometh, etc. I think a reason for why they are more popular is because the writing is more focused on realism (often painfully so), despite their lengthiness, so it allows us to identify more and empathize more with the characters in a way in settings that are kind of recognizable—I think there is a three dimensional length to Yank, but because of the way how the play was written (o’neill shared that it should never be realistic) and of how the dialogue is structured and the way it is meant to be performed, it makes it harder for us to empathize with him—hence the reason why you and the two people sitting beside you were alienated from the production. I love o’neill and all of the plays that he has written (as an aspiring playwright, he is one of my idols), but yeah. The hairy ape is not a play for everyone, so I get it. We tend to prefer the comforts of the familiar or the more realistic settings and characters because as a 21st century audience, we tend to relate to things that are more like real life—whether they be past or present. I think that because o’neill did not intend for yank and the people that surround him to feel like “real people” per se but still be empathizing with them, it is a challenge, Makes me think—what if this play was not as short and was more lengthy, and focused on paddy as the protagonist instead of yank or if carvel ditched the rough Brooklyn accent entirely and went for his normal, more upper class RADA English tones to clash with yank’s way of speaking? I think maybe paddy would be easier to empathize with with the audience and get the message down in a much more subtle way that audiences prefer nowadays and he would not be as polarizing of a figure as Yank is, and certainly not as shouty. As for the accent part—maybe it would help for the audience to understand carvel better, and I think it could make for a great contrast with yank’s way of speaking to great effect—because yank’s trying to belong to both the lower and upper classes, but can’t belong either way. Anyway, what do you think of my what ifs? Sorry if this is so late, I just read this and became fascinated with this review. Hope you have a nice day!
I agree with you and so did the three people who went with me. I struggled to stay awake. It was completely unengaging. This was in part because much of it was inaudible and in part because we just didn\’t care about the characters. Today as I walked passed the Old Vic on my way to work I felt angry about the fact that so many of the reviews had been glowing. Well, the reviewers must have all been plied with drink and been given front row seats with subtitles. A terrible, terrible production and without doubt the worst night I\’ve had at the theatre in the last 10 years.
Thanks for the comment, Patrick! I am so glad to hear that it wasn’t just me…here’s hoping that whatever we see next is a vast improvement!
Great review mate,
I was indeed the “person to the right”
I appreciate a thing of beauty when I see it. This just wasn’t it.
Felt extremely guilty about constantly dropping off. My brain just disengaged.
Again felt guilty “head nodding off syndrome” as can appreciate the time and effort to put something like this together.
Maybe my expectations were just to high.
Too loud. Too brash. No emotional connection with the audience. Given no way to connect to the characters. Literally shouted at for the duration of the play.
Sorry, just not for me,
I’m easy going! I really am! :-/ . At the end of the play had to gauge the guy on my left before being honest about my opinion to him (didn’t want to offend as he invited me) which thankfully he agreed upon!
Imran
It was just unfortunate that it didn’t deliver for either of us but here’s hoping that the next production we see is far better…
Saw this last night. Agree with almost everything you say. A friend sitting to my left said the person on his right kept nodding off; that of course was me. The opening scene in the bowels of the liner was pointless, since not a single word could be identified. And that’s really where I lost interest, as it made the remainder pretty meaningless. And the two people I was with agreedagreed.
Thanks for the comment, Michael. I’m glad that we both have the same opinion but it’s just unfortunate that we can’t get the time back….