Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart delight in the eternal puzzles of No Man's Land

Nice mention of Damien in this No Man's Land blog review from London Theatre Direct!

London Theatre Direct BLOG : REVIEW: No Man’s Land, Wyndham’s Theatre

I really enjoyed Molony in this, he’s always been an actor with potential but this, for me, has been his strongest performance to date.

Hello all! I saw it Monday night with the bloggers and my review won't be as articulate as some I've just read on here but here goes...

At its peaks the extreme moments of hilarity and darkness were wonderful. There was a sadness that ran through the whole piece even if you couldn't exactly put a theory on why. I took from it that these were two old, increasingly bitter men who longedfor their youth again, one of whom had amnesia. Had they just met at a pub? Had they been friends for years? Their drunken ramblings left it difficult to decide what the alcohol was saying and what was truth was.

My biggest problem was the long moments of diatribe that just felt disconnected from the plot. And I use the term plot loosely. These long rants were a bit too pretentious to my liking but that's just personal taste. I feel i missed out on certain aspects of the play as I was in the cheap seats so couldn't see all the facial expressions and glances though McKellen's drunken acting was brilliant! I thought Damien was really impressive and more than held his own in such company. What a thing to put on your CV though right? He really does have a habit of playing bad people or... certainly conflicted people with many layers.

Stage door was surprisingly easy, and he spent a couple of minutes with the bloggers which was great of him as he seemed very tired!!

Glad you enjoyed it (mostly) mikey!  I can't believe it's over a week since we went to see it in London.  It's great to see you sharing your thoughts here

I think you made a very good point about seeing their facial expressions.  It's not play full of grand gestures and big actions and would probably benefit from playing in a smaller, more intimate venue.  Damo's CV is certainly coming along nicely.  And I agree that he does seem to be drawn to the more complicated characters....which I definitely think is a good thing

Thanks for sharing your thoughts of the play Mikey!

I have to agree, there was this sad feeling while watching these two old man sinking in to their memories and it was hard to say were they false, or true. They certainly polish few good memories to be even better... I think there were good balance in this play between humour and serious stuff.

Damien was amazing! And what he must have learned while being part of this play... This must have be absolutely incredible experience for him. I can't wait to see what next...

I'm glad you had stage door moment! The pics were awesome!

Thanks for posting that review fifi, nice mention indeed!

It's hard for me to say is this his strongest performance ever, I have mixed feelings and sense I haven't seen TBOAA. But it is superb no doubt!

This play is so intense, so everyone has their own space to act and affect people. But he must have certain spotlight in this play, sense he is the youngest actor of the play and among very famous men. The contrast is quite obvious. He is the new and interesting one.

Not many people know about his projects and they might have seen him before but not remember him. So, after this performance he will be remembered indeed and his name will be imprinted in many minds.. His future projects might have more attention than ever.

Hello folks!  I watched No Man's Land twice!  The first time I saw it from a pretty good seat & the second time I had a £10 seat & was just about still in the theatre!  The view was still great really, but it made so much difference in this kind of play which is all about the nuance of behaviour and interaction so I feel that when you're too far away to see the actor's faces it loses quite a lot of power.  

I only rated it "good" but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.  In fact I think it was very enjoyable.  Ian McKellen is absolutely fantastic, isn't he!  Of course I knew he was a great actor, but I had no idea he was quite *that* good!  What presence.  Just incredible - I was pretty blown away by him I must say and that is even with this not being my favourite of plays.  But everyone was great, and of course Damien was wonderful in his role.  Thumbs up to the accent and I found him impressively unnerving!

I couldn't rate the play more than *good* just because it was so absurd and I personally like a play to make me really feel or think about something.  Afterwards I knew I'd enjoyed it while it happened, but I didn't feel left with much if that makes any sense?  I can't say that I really felt or thought much (And I don't feel I was supposed to..??)  But while it was happening, I enjoyed it.  I've seen a few Pinter plays and I think they're probably always more about atmosphere and mood and something seeping into you than they are about plot.  But this is a comedic play... I think I prefer something more unsettling myself.  Uhm... not that this wasn't unsettling too at times of course!

I made a huge mess after the play I'm afraid in an attempt to attend the stage door which I wish I hadn't bothered with and which I may return and discuss at some point or I may just forget it ever happened!  Never mind.

But anyway, I enjoyed the play.  But I hope the next Damien play I see is something proper deep in an emotional way myself.  But he's fabulous and what wonderful company to keep on stage too!  

Aww, fifi, I also went to the National Theatre Archive for the first time since we were there last week (my second No Man's Land was Saturday's matinee!)  I didn't see anything of Damien's there, but when there I thought of you!

littleimpulse wrote:

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Aww, fifi, I also went to the National Theatre Archive for the first time since we were there last week (my second No Man's Land was Saturday's matinee!)  I didn't see anything of Damien's there, but when there I thought of you!

 

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 Aww thanks!  Damien's creating his very own catalogue at the NT archive.....we could spend a whole day there just watching him

Glad you enjoyed the performances in NML - even if the play wasn't entirely up your street!  While I agree about the comedy I have to say that my enduring impression of the play is that it was quite melancholic...  Although I can't argue with the sentiment "I hope the next Damien play I see is something proper deep in an emotional way"  Sorry you didn't have a good stage door experience

And I'm looking forward to NT live for the same reason Ellie!

Thank you for postng your No Man's Land reviews Mikey and littleimpulse

It would be lovely to hear from fans seeing the play via NT Live tonight

Come and share your thoughts and vote in the poll!

Now, finally, I could see No Man´s Land in the cinema. Although I had to wait only 2 months it seemed to me longer. I have gone together with my stepmother (we get on very well), because she is able to do well English.

It was a very big cinema (however, 500 seats) and it only approximately 15 people were there.

Because I was already warned by Maghat, the play itself has not surprised me so much.

It surprised me that I was so enthusiastic about the performance of the 4 actors. It was so intensive and both sirs are 2 actors whom I love both for a long time. Indeed, only from films (I had only 2 film posters in my youth room: Star Trek Generations and Blade Runner)

Luckily for me there was subtitle (into English).

My first thought was when at the beginning many Close-Ups came, how the spectators can see everything at the theatre in the 2nd floor?? Nevertheless, without expressions something is absent, or?

And then Damien came by the door and I was fascinated how differently he works at the theatre.

In addition I must still say that I had such a thirst (we had no time to buy something to drink) and briefly before Damien came, I said to my stepmother: I have such a thirst, I would make everything for a beer. And the first thing he do is to take the cold beer and to drink and I thought only exactly this bottle now I need.

I found the play fascinating, a little bit amusing, a little bit sadly and left myself with many questions. But I think, it is this what Pinter wanted.

I find Damien has made good itself beside the 3 other actors very much, he has transported the role so well and I could not think at all so properly about the contents because I was thus caught from the performance (from all four). Nevertheless, I think that Damien has taken the space. By his role, however, above all by his presence (or I am prejudiced there?)

That his voice sounded differently (higher?) to me also noticed. Because I had to explain to my stepmother in the break what fascinates exactly me to Damien.. and I explained to her that his gentle and quiet voice in Being Human the first was what had inspired me. She was irritated a little bit.

The Q&A we could not see any more, because it was so late and the next day I had to work. Pity.

Now this was my first play, even if it was only NTLive, I am really inspired.

I think I will look at more plays. However, I want to see Damien also live in the theater. Since it is actual something else than television.

Awesome feedback on your No Man's Land experience Sana, I very much enjoyed reading your thoughtful, personal review - thank you for sharing!

Sorry you missed the Q & A, NT Live shared a segment of it here

Maghat wrote:

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I suspect the voice difference was mostly to do with the accent. That may be lost a bit when you're dealing with a foreign language. I'm sure I wouldn't hear the difference between people from different regions speaking German. I certainly wouldn't know of any cultural associations for a particular accent! In BH, Damien spoke with "received pronunciation" (no regional accent) and slightly upper class. For NML, he used a Cockney accent (the London accent often associated with lower class or less well-educated people).

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 You would certainly hear it, just do not recognize from what region the people are. This is how I feel about the English accents. And I do not know how exactly I can recognize the Irish accent.