Slow to start but utterly charming
About three minutes into The Select (The Sun Also Rises ),I realised I was in for a long night.
Based on Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, the theatre version follows the whimsical lives of American and English expatriates living in France and Spain as they drink their lives away, dabble in wanted and unwanted love and take part in the odd fishing and feria.
Set in a European bar, Jake Barnes, played by Mike Iveson, took the stage with Robert Cohn (played by the production’s director, John Collins) and Frances (Lindsay Hockaday).
It felt like a novel reading to start off with – a long, boring, piece that brought on a sudden tiredness as the seats of the Opera House became even more unbearable than they usually are.
I had hoped this would be a chance to experience Hemingway without having to endure his rambling texts. The Elevator Repair Service has such a following in New York - it seemed unfathomable to miss it.
By the end of the 31⁄2-hour show (including a break), I was delightfully enchanted but glad it was over.
The production seemed slow to start and rather dry, but that’s what one would expect from a Hemingway novel, wouldn’t they? Iveson was charming with a strong accent that I found difficult to understand at times.
The story line had humour, the barman added great dancing skills, and the actors did an excellent job at exaggerating their characters’ strengths – and weaknesses.
The sound use was perfect – somehow they managed to make the clink of glasses across the room seem believable. Timings were perfect and the lighting was magic.
We moved from the inner walls of a Parisian bar to the back seat of a taxi as Jake and Lady Brett Ashley battled over their love, all with the use of excellent stage lighting.
The second half was filled with more action. The more the stage was used, the more my attention increased.
The actors erupted in dance to Les Petits Boudins, and a table with horns attached took the form of a bull as the torero flirted with his red cape in what I would consider the show’s most memorable scene.
The Select delivered the utmost quality of theatre but maybe not so much of a storyline.
And, though a long three hours, I think the show would have been more enjoyable had the seats been somewhat comfortable.