I first saw these two parts by Tony Kushner, at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2007, a few weeks after I moved to London. It was quite an event at the time, and quite a struggle to think about sitting in a theatre for close to seven hours! Since then, with other shows like The Inheritance, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and Hillary Mantel’s adaptations for the RSC, these two-parters seems to be quite popular.
The iconic, and much praised Angels in America has been a hit amongst the gay community ever since it was first staged on Broadway as two parts, in 1993. Unlike the ranting, fact-filled, drama-documentary of Kramer’s The Normal Heart, Kushner’s Angels has a warmth of characters that you feel an instant attraction too, and therefore far easier to empathise with.
The first encounter is a mixed bag of scenes and characters to set the pace, and feel of New York in 1985. A city where an unknown disease or virus is affecting gay men, by the appearance of legions on their skin. We are introduced to the hypocritical Ray Cohn (Nathan Lane) a highly successful and feared, bully of a lawyer, and self proclaimed ‘heterosexual man’, who simply has ‘sex with men’, and therefore claims defiantly he ‘…is NOT ‘homosexual’.
Joe (Russell Tovey) is the second character we follow, a married Mormon, who works for Cohn, but cannot bring himself to accept the suspicion that he is also gay. Trapped in an unhappy, sexless marriage with a clearly unhinged, hallucinating, valium-popping wife Harper (Denise Gough), who also suspects he prefers sex with men, despite being more worried about the hole in the ozone layer.
Prior (Andrew Garfield) and his boyfriend Louis (James McArdle)'s story completes this first act called Bad News, of a broader Part One named Millennium Approaches, and again introduces us to two loveable characters who are facing a fight with this unknown virus. Prior is a flamboyantly dressed, fabulous drag queen, who prefers to embrace his femininity over his dull male embodiment. He's in a relationship with a troubled, Jewish, administrator Louis, who also works at Cohn’s company, with the aforementioned Joe.
The second act, In Vitro, moves the story on with Ray Cohn trying to get Joe to help him save his career and reputation, by going against all of his moral and theological beliefs. It also introduces us to Prior's mother, Hannah Pitt (Susan Brown) who sells her home in Salt Lake City, and relocates to New York, to care for her dying son.
Joe and Harper’s relationship falls apart, as does Prior and Louis', and this introduces us to nurse and long-standing-friend of Prior, Belize (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) who tries to heal the rift between his friends.
But the third Act, Not-Yet-Conscious, Forward Dawning is way-out, off the register of making sense. It starts with Prior coming face to face with his dead ancestors of the same name, one of which is reputed to have appeared in the Bayeux Tapestry. Another scene, sees loopy wife Harper in Antartica, trying to make sense of the ozone!
Nurse Belize has a long-rambling scene with Louis, which began to make me suspect that all American dramatists enjoy showing off their knowledge, ranting on political, theological and philosophical theories, for paragraphs and pages on end. Maybe this is why Red Light Winter is equally admired in the USA?
This mass and messy, confusing series of scenes, reminded me of Anthony Nielson's first Act of his unforgettable The Wonderful World of Dissocia. My attention, patience and ability to take in this epic tale of these tormented souls, began to waver, as the past catches up with these characters and the lines between reality and imagination, good and evil, past and present become blatantly blurred. Too many ‘mad scenes’ and ‘talking nonsense’, as one of the characters commented.
The main problem with iconic, idolised plays, is that sometimes the emotion of the piece, blinds us to the weaker links. We forget these confusing moments and are scared of admitting we’re not sure what’s going on (or we don’t understand certain scenes), just because everyone else thinks they're great. Like the glossy and glitzy, expensive and expansive production of The Last Five Years I saw a week ago, I doubt I will ever see such a large-scale and spectacular production of Angels in America, as Marianne Elliot has given us here. Using her unique theatrical tool kit, and the powerful portrayals of her company, peppered with an amazing soundscape, music, set and lighting, this is the kind of production this epic vision and story deserves.
I have no doubt that the crazy confusions in the third Act are completely necessary, as the unknown new Millennium approaches, be it in the form of an angel of death or a hope of survival from this sinister illness. In the face of death, they claim the past comes back to haunt us, or to help guide us over to a better place. Are we better facing it alone, or do we question our choices and repair broken bonds before we are unequivocally pushed onwards?
One thing I did know, despite the confusion, tiredness and theatricality of the last three hours, I couldn’t wait to see Part Two. Just not today. Maybe I could be seduced fourteen years ago with a few wines and a meal between these epic episodes, and the hype and excitement of being in a theatre, but these days, I needed a break, time to digest and properly appreciate what I’d just experienced.
Angels in America (Part One), NT at Home, ★★★★
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