The Forsyte Saga Parts 1 & 2 - Park Theatre 200
Oct 17, 2024 22:52:24 GMT
via mobile
Jan and ChristineH like this
Post by Steve on Oct 17, 2024 22:52:24 GMT
Saw Part 1 at today's matinee and Part 2 this evening.
They say you can see either part separately, but for me, both parts together are a seamless whole.
They say the story is now told from a woman's point of view, but it always was, since Galsworthy wrote his trilogy from all points of view, and the only sense it's told from a woman's point of view is in the narration by Fleur Forsyte, which is a little irritating in Part 1, since she isn't born for most of it.
Part 1 encompasses the first two novels of the trilogy, hence it's super-compressed, and the real reason for the narration appears to be bridging gaps in the narrative. Part 2 has room to breathe, and ironically feels much more pacy and exciting, as the narration drops away for the most part, with Fleur Forsyte becoming a living breathing character.
For me, Part 1 is mostly set-up for Part 2, EXCEPT for Joseph Millson's superlative and exceptional performance as Soames Forsyte, whose buttoned-up unlikeability, intense acquisitiveness and confused repressed sensibilities are so present that he burns up the stage with watchability.
As a whole, the two parts build to something terrific. If you only watch Part 1, it's merely average. If you only watch Part 2, you will not fully appreciate it.
Some spoilers follow. . .
Joseph Millson's Victorian "Man of Property" focuses his whole life on owning things, and his most important acquisition is his wife, Irene, who has a more artistic romantic sensibility, is disgusted by her husband, and attracted instead to the impetuous buccaneer architect, Bosinney. These events trigger a generational feud that will only be resolved by the actions of Soames's daughter, Fleur, in the second play. . .
As I already implied, Millson's work in this as Soames, his way of holding everything in, existentially perpetually in confusion while being outwardly completely sure of himself, is utterly compelling, and makes the whole show.
In the second half, he is matched by an incendiary performance by Flora Spencer-Longhurst as his daughter, Fleur, who is a chip off the old block in the acquisitive stakes but blessed with a charisma and likeability her father lacks. The meticulously characterised dance between father and daughter elevates Part 2 into something gripping.
While every actor contributes excellently to the ensemble, albeit in more thinly drawn ways than Soames and Fleur, I found Andy Rush's contributions as man-of-action, Bosinney, in Part 1, and Fleur's thoughtful cousin, Jon, in Part 2, to be particularly brilliant, as his characters have a catalytic dash and spark to them that the more pragmatic and acquisitive characters fail to generate.
For me,
3 stars - Part 1
4 stars - Part 2
4 and a half stars - Parts 1 & 2 combined.
They say you can see either part separately, but for me, both parts together are a seamless whole.
They say the story is now told from a woman's point of view, but it always was, since Galsworthy wrote his trilogy from all points of view, and the only sense it's told from a woman's point of view is in the narration by Fleur Forsyte, which is a little irritating in Part 1, since she isn't born for most of it.
Part 1 encompasses the first two novels of the trilogy, hence it's super-compressed, and the real reason for the narration appears to be bridging gaps in the narrative. Part 2 has room to breathe, and ironically feels much more pacy and exciting, as the narration drops away for the most part, with Fleur Forsyte becoming a living breathing character.
For me, Part 1 is mostly set-up for Part 2, EXCEPT for Joseph Millson's superlative and exceptional performance as Soames Forsyte, whose buttoned-up unlikeability, intense acquisitiveness and confused repressed sensibilities are so present that he burns up the stage with watchability.
As a whole, the two parts build to something terrific. If you only watch Part 1, it's merely average. If you only watch Part 2, you will not fully appreciate it.
Some spoilers follow. . .
Joseph Millson's Victorian "Man of Property" focuses his whole life on owning things, and his most important acquisition is his wife, Irene, who has a more artistic romantic sensibility, is disgusted by her husband, and attracted instead to the impetuous buccaneer architect, Bosinney. These events trigger a generational feud that will only be resolved by the actions of Soames's daughter, Fleur, in the second play. . .
As I already implied, Millson's work in this as Soames, his way of holding everything in, existentially perpetually in confusion while being outwardly completely sure of himself, is utterly compelling, and makes the whole show.
In the second half, he is matched by an incendiary performance by Flora Spencer-Longhurst as his daughter, Fleur, who is a chip off the old block in the acquisitive stakes but blessed with a charisma and likeability her father lacks. The meticulously characterised dance between father and daughter elevates Part 2 into something gripping.
While every actor contributes excellently to the ensemble, albeit in more thinly drawn ways than Soames and Fleur, I found Andy Rush's contributions as man-of-action, Bosinney, in Part 1, and Fleur's thoughtful cousin, Jon, in Part 2, to be particularly brilliant, as his characters have a catalytic dash and spark to them that the more pragmatic and acquisitive characters fail to generate.
For me,
3 stars - Part 1
4 stars - Part 2
4 and a half stars - Parts 1 & 2 combined.
