Life is Indeed a Dream

I love going to plays in London. Audiences seem very much more engaged, frequently coming with copies of the play text and ready to engage each other in conversation about the production during the leisurely 20-minute intermissions at the theatre bars. Most houses allow patrons to take their intermission drinks back to their seats in plastic cups, which provides a natural progression into a rowdy finale. The plays that are making an impact are the topic of every dinner conversation around town, and every evening, you can see long lines outside the half-price ticket booth and the theatre box-offices, testament to London’s enduring love affair with the theatre. The first show that I determine to see on this trip is the Donmar Warehouse production of Life is a Dream, Calderon’s existentialist 17th-century Spanish drama about a prince (Dominic West, of The Wire fame) who is imprisoned by his father after a dire prophecy that the prince will become a barbaric, uncouth ruler.




Wrestling with the idea of fate as predestined versus self-determined, Calderon’s play retains the epic scope and language of great classical theatre but feels totally accessible and relevant. Jonathan Munby’s elegant, muscular production is a hot ticket indeed. The shows at the Donmar consistently sell out its entire run (the last time I was in London, I managed to catch a gorgeous production of A Doll’s House, with a surprisingly fiery and poignant Gillian Anderson in the starring role, and Michael Grandage’s Hamlet, currently on Broadway, both of which were totally sold out), and this was no exception, despite the weighty play. Classical theatre still sells! I got in at the last minute with the help of a generous lady who had bought too many tickets, and was just ravished by the production. The flawless speaking and acting aside, the production really embraced the use of music and movement to help tell the story and to give the audience a textured journey that engages all their senses. As has become typical in English productions, the transitions are fully seized upon as opportunities to extend the storytelling, rather than being dismissed as perfunctory joins to get from one scene to the next. This is an aesthetic that I am aiming to engage with in my own work.

(posted by Ed)