THEATRE
Written by Lolita Chakrabarti
By Almeida Theatre London, Streamed online until 8 March 2021
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars:****1/2I reviewed the streamed version of HYMN on 8 March 2021 in Melbourne Australia. This review appears only on this blog .KH
In HYMN by Lolita Chakrabarti, two actors, Adrian Lester (Gilbert/Gil) and Danny Sapani (Ben) take us on a joyful and poignant journey tracing the burgeoning friendship and love between two 50 year-old men.
At Gil’s father’s funeral, the tentative, working class Ben approaches the more confident, outgoing and glib Gil and, although, until this day, they have been strangers, Ben reveals that they may be brothers.
The vibrating core of this production, deftly directed Blanche McIntyre, is the virtuoso performances of Lester and Sapani who play the two men with intensity, warmth, playfulness, fierce physicality, vivacious wit and vibrant musicality.
It is clear that Chakrabarti wrote this play for these specific actors (one of whom is her husband, Lester). The production was developed during Covid Lockdown in London in 2020, so it was rehearsed and performed with social distance between the two actors and played to an empty Almeida Theatre.
All action takes place on a wooden platform (des. Miriam Buether) on an empty stage with the occasional tap-tap of a metronome to beat out the pulsating rhythm of the men’s interactions as they pace around each other, boxing, dancing, rapping and singing (musical direction, DJ Walde; choreography, Robia Milliner).
Lester plays the piano live and, man! he can sing – and so can Sapani.
The atmosphere is enhanced by bold lighting (Prema Mehta) and evocative soundscape (Gregory Clarke).
There may be no physical contact between the actors, but the characters feel intensely intimate and give the illusion that they are hugging or holding each other, even from a distance.
The episodes in Gil and Ben’s relationship cover a year in which they share their families, histories, loves, secrets and fears. At the core of each of their pasts is Gus, their father, absent in death but an overwhelming and perhaps overbearing presence who is a third, unseen character in their story.
Their growing love for each other swings from passion and anger to joyful dancing and child’s play that characterises their craving for brotherhood. Gil wants the two brothers to work together and his new project seems ideal. But, as we can expect, nothing goes to plan and their story ends in melancholy, having come full circle.
HYMN is a powerfully performed and cleverly written play that is compelling even when streamed online and performed with social distancing. Bravo!
HYMN is now streaming on the Almeida site.
by Kate Herbert
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