As a play that largely focused around English culture and history, I cannot deny that, as an Australian, I was at times stumped by the use of English slang and references to English culture. That is not to say this was a bad thing – rather, I think it is more than anything, an ode to the authenticity of the play and its true demonstration of English life. Despite certain phrases being lost in translation, I still had the most wonderful time watching Jerusalem and remained extremely gripped throughout the entire performance.
This can largely be attributed to the amazing performances from all the actors in Jerusalem. There was not a single weak link in the cast – I believe everyone genuinely put their entire hearts and souls into the play. From their very exaggerated, comical body movements to their more finer, facial emotions, it was difficult not to get lost into the performance of each individual actor, as it was evident that everyone invested their all into their roles. This comes as no surprise, as all the actors in Jerusalem received intensive acting training and were encouraged to develop and hone a range of different skills. More specifically, as Lucy Yellow, Co-Director of Jerusalem, elucidated in a prior interview, the actors in Jerusalem underwent very thorough acting training and were provided with a diverse skill set, including stage combat, moral dancing, coral singing and intimacy training – all of which are skills which they can use in future roles as well. I am excited to see how many of these actors will undoubtedly progress in their careers, especially after the performance they put up in this play.
As for the set and production design, I consider this to be another strong suit of the play. The set felt very authentic, enhanced by the small details scattered throughout the set such as a smashed television, mud stains smeared over the caravan and the large, green canopy strung over the entire stage. This, as well as the lighting, allowed for a very immersive, engaging experience.
My personal favourite scene in the play was when all the characters were Morris dancing. Everything about this scene was utterly captivating – from the lighting, to the traditional music and most notably, the energy which all the actors exuded when dancing and chanting. It was such a powerful scene and the effort and power the actors invested into this scene was so tangible that I could feel it in my body. It was as if a certain awe was invoked within me.
Overall, I found the play to be perfectly balanced, producing very comedic scenes, while also touching on some much darker themes relating to drug abuse and toxic masculinity. I feel that this was another factor that left me gripped throughout the entire performance, as I was simultaneously being entertained and challenged in my thinking
That being said, there were some brief moments in the play which I felt continued for too long. These were the scenes where the characters were conversing with each other and seemed to get lost in their own conversations and banter. While this does accurately reflect real-life interactions, I feel that it is important to also consider the audience as in some brief moments, I felt that their attention was lost amidst the chitter-chatter of the characters.
Nonetheless, Jerusalem was a spectacular play and one which I am extremely grateful to have seen. It was a Friday night spent laughing, pondering over deeper themes and overall, simply having a great time.
Well done to the entire cast of Jerusalem!
For more insight into the behind the scenes and production of Jerusalem, do check out my previous article where I interviewed the production team of this amazing play.
Written by- Elena Goss
Edited by- Harsheni Maniarasan