Posted: 7/3/26 at 9:06pm
CoffeeBreak said: "Really is a shame. I hope they do bring back a Mantello production with Laurie.
How was Ferran, Tovey and Everett ?"
Everett, I remember feeling "meh" about. Granted, he was a replacement for Izzard, so he had the least time, and fair game; it was a preview, but he felt behind the other performers.
Tovey, I thought, was the best Nick I've had the pleasure of seeing. Nick is usually the role I pay the least attention to. Not that it's underwritten, or the play discards the character, but you pretty much know what to expect; every other character has flashy moments. Tovey made it a meal. Both frustrating yet sympathetic. I've never left a production of Woolf with sympathy for the character as I had with his portrayal. Which carries on to,
Ferran as Honey, who was sublime. Often, Honey, as a character, comes off as an easy mark. The cluelessness and earnestness can enter Pollyanna territory, but Ferran felt like such a real person. Someone sharp, but without the educational references. Her humiliation made my stomach hurt, because it felt like she didn't deserve it.
Metcalf, as always, was spectacular. Within the first five minutes onstage, she redefined the role.
It's hard to put into words, but I've never felt or understood Nick & Honey as much as I did with that revival. And I'm a Who's Afraid enthusiast! I am so sad it didn't get to have a life. I believe after every act, a wall of the very realistic set disappeared, with the final act being performed in a sea of dark nothingness with a staircase.
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