Posted by Mark Harvey on December 1, 2008 4:10 PM|Permalink
Comments
Playing a character that was a historical figure is something quite difficult to master, but the actors in Shadowlands accomplished this and presented it with great ease. The only character that was difficult to fully understand was C.S. Lewis, played by Simon Jones. Fortunately, the acting done by Charity Jones and James A. Stephens more than made up for this.
S. Jones had a challenging character to play. C.S. Lewis could not figure out how he felt about Joy Davidman Gresham, played by C. Jones until about halfway through the play. He continually told the audience, as well as himself, that they were only friends. When he finally admitted his love for Joy, it was slightly confusing. The confusion was far from the actor’s fault though. S. Jones was very convincing in that he did not know how he felt about Joy. Accomplishing this sense of confusion is a difficult feat, but he was able to do it night after night.
C. Jones was extremely impressive in the second half of the play. She had to act as if she was very much in pain, but her words still had to be understood by audiences over twenty rows back. At times, she had to whisper, but her voice was still audible. Her illness was so believable that when she came out onstage after the performance, it was a shock to see her standing and smiling.
James A. Stephens played Major W.H. Lewis and was spectacularly believable. He gave off an attitude that shouted “I don’t care!� but the audience could always tell he was concerned. Every time that Joy came over, he nonchalantly accepted the idea, but his small mannerisms expressed that he actually enjoyed seeing her. When she became sick, he acted bored when talking with C.S. Lewis about it, but he managed to show the audience he really cared for his brother’s feelings. Giving off two different attitudes while making each one believable is quite impressive, but Stephens made it seem second nature.
Even though some of the characters in Shadowlands were confusing, the actors did an exceptional job with their roles. The flaws were minor, and the acting was talented. Shadowlands is a wonderful example of acting and a great play to see.
This weekend I was lucky enough to be in the Twin Cities to see the play "Shadowlands". I didn't know what to expect other than what little I had heard about it. But nothing I've been to the beautiful Guthrie for has disappointed me so far, and neither did this play. The most interesting part about this play was that it focused on the life of a real person rather than a character, which can either be simple or very tricky. It’s simple because you have a model to follow, but it can be tricky because the characters are historic. The story followed C.S. Lewis, played by Simon Jones, and while his performance was solid, the character himself was an unusual one. C.S Lewis, the successful author and professor, struggles to understand himself, his new love, and his new feelings.
Throughout the play, C.S. Lewis had to figure out his relationship with a woman named Joy Gresham, played by Charity Jones. Joy is a fellow writer from America and the two of them become fast friends, but later we can tell that their feelings for eachother are becoming confusing and hard to interpret. Miss Jones’s performance was entertaining and believable. In the beginning of the play, she was charming and captivating. As time goes by, the audience found that her character was easier to relate to and understand. We really had a reason to sympathize with her when she began to fall ill.
Major W.H. Lewis, played by James A. Stephens has a certain cynical quality that turned out to be quite humorous to the audience. Though the play is categorized as a drama, there were many scenes that made the entire audience burst into laughter.
All of the actors were skilled in their field, and their chemistry with one another was great to watch. Shadowlands was a interesting play to see, and I was glad to be able to experience it.
The mark of a good play is whether or not it was worth seeing. A play worth seeing needs to excel in all areas such as script, actors, and scenery. Shadowlands, done at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, definitely fit this bill.
A well written script must be both easy to follow and interesting. Shadowlands was written, so people who had no background knowledge of C.S. Lewis could follow along and enjoy the play as much as those who knew every detail about his life. The plotline was also fast-moving in most parts, but it slowed down enough in others to let ideas sink in. Then, it was back up and running before the audience got bored.
All of the actors in the performance did an excellent job, but the three who really brought the play to life were Simon Jones, Charity Jones, and James A. Stephens. S. Jones, who played C.S. Lewis, confused the audience on occasion in reference to his feelings towards Joy Davidman Gresham, played by C. Jones, but his abilities to do this were extraordinary. C. Jones was incredibly believable as a cancer patient, and Stephens, who played Major W.H. Lewis, shone with his multiple personalities.
The scenery was quite impressive and very realistic as well. It actually felt like the audience was sitting outside of C.S. Lewis’ house in the mid-1950s. The house looked lived in, and it was obvious that it was inhabited by two men. Each piece of furniture looked like it had been hand-picked by C.S. Lewis himself and not thrown into the play because it was cheap and convenient.
Shadowlands exhibited excellence in the areas of script, actors, and scenery. Most of the play was near perfection, errors did not have enough influence to make or break the performance. It was an excellent play that was pulled together by all its different aspects, and it is definitely worth seeing.
Shadowlands was a play that I had never heard anything about until someone in my family decided to buy tickets for me and my siblings. I am a huge theater fan, so any new theater experience is very exciting for me. I love seeing plays and musicals, no matter what genre they happen to be. I really enjoy seeing actors work with each other to bring something entertaining or truly moving to an audience. As I said before, I was not let down by the acting of the main characters, especially Sam Jones and Charity Jones. The other characters were great, but the main two stood out the most to me.
Another great thing about this play was the set. They made it quite realistic. Not only were the locations very real, but the props they used made it seem very real to me, too. For example, the characters would sit around a table talking and drinking and eating, and none of it seemed fake.
One very unusual thing about Shadowlands besides the fact that the characters were based on real people, was the way that the main character, C.S. Lewis would talk to the audience as if lecturing us, but he was really giving away bits of the plot while doing so. It was very strange, but it did not turn me off to the play. The realistic sets and acting made up for anything that was a little off.
Shadowlands was a play that I had never heard anything about until someone in my family decided to buy tickets for me and my siblings. I am a huge theater fan, so any new theater experience is very exciting for me. I love seeing plays and musicals, no matter what genre they happen to be. I really enjoy seeing actors work with each other to bring something entertaining or truly moving to an audience. As I said before, I was not let down by the acting of the main characters, especially Sam Jones and Charity Jones. The other characters were great, but the main two stood out the most to me.
Another great thing about this play was the set. They made it quite realistic. Not only were the locations very real, but the props they used made it seem very real to me, too. For example, the characters would sit around a table talking and drinking and eating, and none of it seemed fake.
One very unusual thing about Shadowlands besides the fact that the characters were based on real people, was the way that the main character, C.S. Lewis would talk to the audience as if lecturing us, but he was really giving away bits of the plot while doing so. It was very strange, but it did not turn me off to the play. The realistic sets and acting made up for anything that was a little off.
Comments
Playing a character that was a historical figure is something quite difficult to master, but the actors in Shadowlands accomplished this and presented it with great ease. The only character that was difficult to fully understand was C.S. Lewis, played by Simon Jones. Fortunately, the acting done by Charity Jones and James A. Stephens more than made up for this.
S. Jones had a challenging character to play. C.S. Lewis could not figure out how he felt about Joy Davidman Gresham, played by C. Jones until about halfway through the play. He continually told the audience, as well as himself, that they were only friends. When he finally admitted his love for Joy, it was slightly confusing. The confusion was far from the actor’s fault though. S. Jones was very convincing in that he did not know how he felt about Joy. Accomplishing this sense of confusion is a difficult feat, but he was able to do it night after night.
C. Jones was extremely impressive in the second half of the play. She had to act as if she was very much in pain, but her words still had to be understood by audiences over twenty rows back. At times, she had to whisper, but her voice was still audible. Her illness was so believable that when she came out onstage after the performance, it was a shock to see her standing and smiling.
James A. Stephens played Major W.H. Lewis and was spectacularly believable. He gave off an attitude that shouted “I don’t care!� but the audience could always tell he was concerned. Every time that Joy came over, he nonchalantly accepted the idea, but his small mannerisms expressed that he actually enjoyed seeing her. When she became sick, he acted bored when talking with C.S. Lewis about it, but he managed to show the audience he really cared for his brother’s feelings. Giving off two different attitudes while making each one believable is quite impressive, but Stephens made it seem second nature.
Even though some of the characters in Shadowlands were confusing, the actors did an exceptional job with their roles. The flaws were minor, and the acting was talented. Shadowlands is a wonderful example of acting and a great play to see.
Posted by: Denise Victora | December 7, 2008 7:15 PM
This weekend I was lucky enough to be in the Twin Cities to see the play "Shadowlands". I didn't know what to expect other than what little I had heard about it. But nothing I've been to the beautiful Guthrie for has disappointed me so far, and neither did this play. The most interesting part about this play was that it focused on the life of a real person rather than a character, which can either be simple or very tricky. It’s simple because you have a model to follow, but it can be tricky because the characters are historic. The story followed C.S. Lewis, played by Simon Jones, and while his performance was solid, the character himself was an unusual one. C.S Lewis, the successful author and professor, struggles to understand himself, his new love, and his new feelings.
Throughout the play, C.S. Lewis had to figure out his relationship with a woman named Joy Gresham, played by Charity Jones. Joy is a fellow writer from America and the two of them become fast friends, but later we can tell that their feelings for eachother are becoming confusing and hard to interpret. Miss Jones’s performance was entertaining and believable. In the beginning of the play, she was charming and captivating. As time goes by, the audience found that her character was easier to relate to and understand. We really had a reason to sympathize with her when she began to fall ill.
Major W.H. Lewis, played by James A. Stephens has a certain cynical quality that turned out to be quite humorous to the audience. Though the play is categorized as a drama, there were many scenes that made the entire audience burst into laughter.
All of the actors were skilled in their field, and their chemistry with one another was great to watch. Shadowlands was a interesting play to see, and I was glad to be able to experience it.
Posted by: Kayla Barry | December 7, 2008 11:50 PM
The mark of a good play is whether or not it was worth seeing. A play worth seeing needs to excel in all areas such as script, actors, and scenery. Shadowlands, done at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, definitely fit this bill.
A well written script must be both easy to follow and interesting. Shadowlands was written, so people who had no background knowledge of C.S. Lewis could follow along and enjoy the play as much as those who knew every detail about his life. The plotline was also fast-moving in most parts, but it slowed down enough in others to let ideas sink in. Then, it was back up and running before the audience got bored.
All of the actors in the performance did an excellent job, but the three who really brought the play to life were Simon Jones, Charity Jones, and James A. Stephens. S. Jones, who played C.S. Lewis, confused the audience on occasion in reference to his feelings towards Joy Davidman Gresham, played by C. Jones, but his abilities to do this were extraordinary. C. Jones was incredibly believable as a cancer patient, and Stephens, who played Major W.H. Lewis, shone with his multiple personalities.
The scenery was quite impressive and very realistic as well. It actually felt like the audience was sitting outside of C.S. Lewis’ house in the mid-1950s. The house looked lived in, and it was obvious that it was inhabited by two men. Each piece of furniture looked like it had been hand-picked by C.S. Lewis himself and not thrown into the play because it was cheap and convenient.
Shadowlands exhibited excellence in the areas of script, actors, and scenery. Most of the play was near perfection, errors did not have enough influence to make or break the performance. It was an excellent play that was pulled together by all its different aspects, and it is definitely worth seeing.
Posted by: Denise Victora | December 8, 2008 12:11 AM
Shadowlands was a play that I had never heard anything about until someone in my family decided to buy tickets for me and my siblings. I am a huge theater fan, so any new theater experience is very exciting for me. I love seeing plays and musicals, no matter what genre they happen to be. I really enjoy seeing actors work with each other to bring something entertaining or truly moving to an audience. As I said before, I was not let down by the acting of the main characters, especially Sam Jones and Charity Jones. The other characters were great, but the main two stood out the most to me.
Another great thing about this play was the set. They made it quite realistic. Not only were the locations very real, but the props they used made it seem very real to me, too. For example, the characters would sit around a table talking and drinking and eating, and none of it seemed fake.
One very unusual thing about Shadowlands besides the fact that the characters were based on real people, was the way that the main character, C.S. Lewis would talk to the audience as if lecturing us, but he was really giving away bits of the plot while doing so. It was very strange, but it did not turn me off to the play. The realistic sets and acting made up for anything that was a little off.
Posted by: Kayla Barry | December 8, 2008 9:58 PM
Shadowlands was a play that I had never heard anything about until someone in my family decided to buy tickets for me and my siblings. I am a huge theater fan, so any new theater experience is very exciting for me. I love seeing plays and musicals, no matter what genre they happen to be. I really enjoy seeing actors work with each other to bring something entertaining or truly moving to an audience. As I said before, I was not let down by the acting of the main characters, especially Sam Jones and Charity Jones. The other characters were great, but the main two stood out the most to me.
Another great thing about this play was the set. They made it quite realistic. Not only were the locations very real, but the props they used made it seem very real to me, too. For example, the characters would sit around a table talking and drinking and eating, and none of it seemed fake.
One very unusual thing about Shadowlands besides the fact that the characters were based on real people, was the way that the main character, C.S. Lewis would talk to the audience as if lecturing us, but he was really giving away bits of the plot while doing so. It was very strange, but it did not turn me off to the play. The realistic sets and acting made up for anything that was a little off.
Posted by: Kayla Barry | December 8, 2008 10:00 PM