Yerma - #NTLive Screening
Seeing Yerma as a streamed event in no way lessened the impact of the performance (she says, having not seen it performed live and thus having no context in which to compare the two... Moving on!) The audience was full of respect and anticipation and as soon as the lights dimmed and the recording started, the lines between those who knew the plot and those who were new to the plot seemed to disappear. All anyone was expecting was an hour and a half of damn good drama (which was definitely what we received).
The story of Yerma follows a woman's tragic journey as she longs for a child and the consequences for her and her family when that longing remains unfulfilled. The original play by Lorca is very much a reflection of a different time period than this Young Vic reinvention, but the themes remain very much the same. The production and performances were value enough but the screening very much leaves you wanting more - wanting to find out about the original text, to mull over the performance to try and pin point exactly what it was that made the production so tangible.
The plot really is very clever and incredibly well executed. As a millenial (apparently) the up to date references were enjoyable, though it took a few minutes to adjust to the way the dialogue often overlapped in what we may assume was a direction given to contrast so starkly to the dialogue towards the end of the play. The more the relationship disintegrates, so too does their ability to communicate effectively. No longer are they in tune with one another, but rather barely listening and certainly not hearing.
Time, and the way it is used in this production, stands out as a prominent theme. We are reminded regularly about the passage of time (something that is of great concern to Her) and yet time seems so free, passing in mere hours then whole months. It remains inescapable though, for us as the audience and for those in the performance and it becomes clear that by the end we are racing towards an eruption of gigantic magnitude.
The use of costume is also very clever and was something that perhaps requires more attention to comment on properly. Do the changes of clothes occur when there is a shift in opinion, in realisation? Is it completely meaningless, just coincidental? Hard to say without a second viewing (or perhaps easy to say for a more competent critic - your choice). Other than time, it feels like Yerma revolves a lot around omission. Not only in the very pronounced sense, in that a baby is essentially omitted from her life, but in so much of how each character acts, behaves and talks. We find out towards the end that John, the husband, stopped wanting (or never wanted?) to have a child and by this point, the obsession has reached dangerous heights already. The revelation of this omitted information sends Her into a spiral from which there is no return. It's so interesting psychologically here though, because this omission fully allows Her to attribute the childlessness to this fact - no wonder they didn't conceive when he didn't want it to happen. To her now seemingly deranged state, the two events are directly connected.
It was interesting also to see commentary of the world of social connections. The blog that she writes about is, understandably, a great hit. Posts go viral and though she omits her husband and her sister's names, the fallout of talking about such intimate elements of their lives is a huge factor in the play's final outcome. The irony of then writing a review about it, online, on a blog, is not lost.
What you see when you watch Yerma is a breathtaking performance. Billie Piper is, as everyone has already said with far more eloquence than is mustered here, absolutely outstanding. Because time passes so differently with each scene and she is present in so many of them, we are treated to a masterclass in heading a performance. We see elements of youth, of regret, of longing and desire, or arrogance, of desperation and so much more and Billie grounds each and every one of them. The script at times tries too hard to be relevant but the acting compensates for this immensely. Some scenes are painfully accurate and perhaps that is why Yerma has become quite such a spectacle.
A magnificent modern masterpiece - go and see if if you can.
Time, and the way it is used in this production, stands out as a prominent theme. We are reminded regularly about the passage of time (something that is of great concern to Her) and yet time seems so free, passing in mere hours then whole months. It remains inescapable though, for us as the audience and for those in the performance and it becomes clear that by the end we are racing towards an eruption of gigantic magnitude.
The use of costume is also very clever and was something that perhaps requires more attention to comment on properly. Do the changes of clothes occur when there is a shift in opinion, in realisation? Is it completely meaningless, just coincidental? Hard to say without a second viewing (or perhaps easy to say for a more competent critic - your choice). Other than time, it feels like Yerma revolves a lot around omission. Not only in the very pronounced sense, in that a baby is essentially omitted from her life, but in so much of how each character acts, behaves and talks. We find out towards the end that John, the husband, stopped wanting (or never wanted?) to have a child and by this point, the obsession has reached dangerous heights already. The revelation of this omitted information sends Her into a spiral from which there is no return. It's so interesting psychologically here though, because this omission fully allows Her to attribute the childlessness to this fact - no wonder they didn't conceive when he didn't want it to happen. To her now seemingly deranged state, the two events are directly connected.
It was interesting also to see commentary of the world of social connections. The blog that she writes about is, understandably, a great hit. Posts go viral and though she omits her husband and her sister's names, the fallout of talking about such intimate elements of their lives is a huge factor in the play's final outcome. The irony of then writing a review about it, online, on a blog, is not lost.
What you see when you watch Yerma is a breathtaking performance. Billie Piper is, as everyone has already said with far more eloquence than is mustered here, absolutely outstanding. Because time passes so differently with each scene and she is present in so many of them, we are treated to a masterclass in heading a performance. We see elements of youth, of regret, of longing and desire, or arrogance, of desperation and so much more and Billie grounds each and every one of them. The script at times tries too hard to be relevant but the acting compensates for this immensely. Some scenes are painfully accurate and perhaps that is why Yerma has become quite such a spectacle.
A magnificent modern masterpiece - go and see if if you can.
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theatre
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