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| OLIVIER WINNER MARK RYLANCE: Actor Mark Rylance gives 'Jerusalem' its edge. Photo: Simon Annand |
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London Theater Review
Mark Rylance's Olivier-winning performance
is the highlight of London production of Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Ian Rickson
Apollo Theatre
London, UK
www.jerusalemtheplay.com
Through April 24, 2010
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By Rebecca Nounou
London Theater Critic
LONDON—Mark Rylance's performance in Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem is a theatrical tour de force. Rylance deserves every ounce of the Olivier Best Actor award that he recently won. I would have given the award to him for the simple fact alone that he has to down a pint of milk with a raw egg in the first scene in every performance. However, that would be a total injustice because Rylance's portrayal of Johnny “Rooster” Byron, the local "do-nothing" and troublemaker from a small, rural English town, is so convincing and, by far, one of the most natural performances I've seen in a long time. I am sure part of the credit must go to Ian Rickson and his razor-sharp direction.
However, I could have done without the rest of the play, but not because of the writing or acting. The play is more than three hours long, and the comedy is far too British for my comprehension. As an American living in London for over a year, I've tried to immerse myself in local culture, and it prepared me for about 20% of the play. The 20% I did get was hysterically funny; and the 80% that I didn't get had the audience howling.
Although much of the British humor was over my head, the story could easily be set in America. It is the morning of a local fair on St. George's Day (a national holiday in England) and Johnny Byron, who lives in a trailer, has just been served an eviction notice because he is on a plot of land about to be turned into a new housing complex. He is supposed to take his son to the fair, but the local teenagers are hanging around, consuming his vast supply of alcohol and drugs. Rylance is ably supported by such actors as Mackenize Crook (of UK "The Office" fame), who plays aspiring DJ Ginger, and Tom Brooke as Lee, a "pothead" preparing to move to Australia.
This could be any typical small-town America story, but its sensibility is essentially English, with regional references to (and jokes about) the nation. However, what Rylance does is have you mesmerized by Byron from the moment he enters the stage. One overlooks the fact that he is indeed enabling underage drinking and drug use and that he is a deadbeat dad because, somehow, we know he means well and has good intentions. It makes the last scenes all that much more painful and heartbreaking, proving that Rylance's portrayal of an unorthodox hero gives Jerusalem its edge.
Published March 31, 2010
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