Long Day's Journey Into Night (Brian Cox) - Wyndham’s 2024

Picked up a great day seat yesterday (2nd row dress circle) but really struggled with this. It felt far too one-note in its misery and was certainly far too long. Particularly in the final act, every time I thought it was about to end, another character walked on and it'd go on for another 15 minutes! Didn't feel invested enough in any of the characters to care much about them or how they felt about each other.

That said, even at university I loathed lots of the mid-century American plays I had to read, so it may just be the case that this type of play is not for me. (Same probably goes for the lady I overheard on the way out who said she fell asleep.) Still, for £25 I don't regret going!

I managed to get a day ticket for tonight’s performance. Checked availability at 10.30am and there definitely weren’t 50 seats on offer and none were in the stalls. 2 boxes of 2 were available and some in the dress and upper circle. My ticket was second row of the dress circle. Good view and thought the first half went by quite quickly but it does drag towards the end of the second half and the seats are quite cramped so was uncomfortable towards the end. Finished at 10.20 this evening.

We were all there tonight it seems.

Had a pre booked stalls seat, so was nice and up close. It did drag at times, but I felt, as others have said, that Patricia Clarkson really delivered.

One potentially controversial question though: are Clarkson and Cox wearing ear pieces?

Cox especially at times seemed unnecessarily stilted, and from Row B they both, at times, gave the appearance of having lines fed to them.

Anyone else suspected this?

It is a long play and Cox especially had a lot of lines.

Now they're also doing rush on todaytix

I don't see how it's possible to act a part properly if you are having your lines fed through an earpiece. Fundamentally it's the same as doing it with a script in your hand. If you are fully inhabiting a character, the lines should come from you as if they are a wholly organic thought or response: for that to happen, you need to have absorbed the text so completely that the words come unbidden.

I saw it this afternoon, front row. Having read this thread beforehand, I looked for earpieces and couldn’t see them, so either they are very discreet or perhaps were only used for the earlier performances. I didn’t see any other indications that they were being fed lines. Both leads occasionally stumbled, but nothing major or that took me out of the play.

I liked this a lot, especially (as others have said) Patricia Clarkson. I‘ve seen a mixed bag of new plays recently, so it was nice to see a good play revived straightforwardly.

Friend of mine worked on Blithe Spirit and says it's the happiest show he's ever done due to Angela Lansbury being so down-to-earth and so much fun. She did indeed have earpieces although she didn't use them to a great extent which seems to be the case with Cox and Clarkson. Having seen both you'd never have known when/if Lansbury took a prompt whereas with Cox and Clarkson it's very clear.

When this was announced last year I was intrigued to see it based on the cast but also a quite cautious as I’ve never seen an O’Neil before and had heard how long and gruelling they can be. I’ve also had bad experiences with other American classics I found very dull so knew if I saw it I needed a cheap ticket. I had managed to get a day seat online for £25 (looking at other dates it is £150 so I’m very happy) for the matinee and went in with caution.

But I have to say I was won over by this play. As a text itself it is so good and I can see why it is regarded as a classic. I was reflecting on the train back that story wise not much happened but O’Neil manages to add so much dimension and impact into it. I was personally never bored throughout.

The production is also very strong with a great ensemble cast. As mentioned Clarkson is the highlight and it is in the second half where she shines becoming a the ghost like Mary the characters talk about. Her final monologue too is a moment I found very powerful and deserved a standing ovation alone. The younger cast members were also just as strong and carried this play so well. I was very glad to see Cox onstage as he really is such a great stage actor and magnetic to watch. As the play went on though he did seem to give up on the American accent and we had a very Scottish Tyrone.

Maybe this production itself is not quite perfect but is very strong. I’m so glad I gave this play a chance and if you are unsure to see it I would say go.

If you want a f*** offf, ask him about the great Nicola Sturgeon and how Scotland is "ripe" for independance.

Sounds like they still haven't got used to their earpieces then...

Just out of today's matinée.

This play has been on my list for a while. I liked it but not sure it is the best production.

I agree with most people here that Patricia Clarkson is the standout. Natural acting and very moving. I also liked Daryl McCormack and Louisa Harlan. Brian Cox is obviously a good actor but he seemed on automatic pilot and shouts some lines/words randomly. Laurie Kynaston is not an actor I like; this was the third time I see him on stage and find his technique distracting and shallow.

On reviews and on this forum, running time was 3 1/2 hours. It was 3 hours today, as advertised on website.

Where is the 1/2 hour gone? Just speeding it up or shortening transitions wouldn't give you a 30 minute cut, I think. Also after press night it is not common to make such significant changes.

I will watch the film version with Katherine Hepburn. I've had the DVD for years but been waiting to see it on stage first. I can see there is a new film of it with Jessica Lange, but not sure if it is a recorded live production or a proper film.