Theatre Review: On The Shore of The Wide World Plays Like A Film At Atlantic Theatre
On The Shore of The Wide World has to be one of the more intriguing plays I have seen in recent. This acclaimed play, by writer Simon Stephens and directed by Neil Pepe, is a close-up into an Irish family’s approach to loss. Of course, loss comes in many forms: from death to departure. Yet, the problem lies not in the actual loss as much as the “letting go”. How do you deal with being left behind?
With a stage designed by Scott Pask like a giant home that alternates between three generations of the Holmes, the audience is given a feeling of settlement. The Holmes are your typical, hard-working family; filled with love and the sense of security/ stability that comes from having a routine. They wake up, go to school or work, hangout with friends, come home for dinner, and then its back to bed. How typical? Yet, tragedy strikes, as it always does, and, suddenly, every wound this family has never healed begins to gush open. Frankly, there is nothing like tragedy to push a person to analyze how he or she loves. Eldest son Alex Holmes (Ben Rosenfield) reflects upon his new, rambunctious love Sarah Black (Tedra Millan), Peter Holmes(C.J. Wilson) is grieving his wife, Alice (Mary McCann), growing, emotional distance, while Christopher (Wesley Zurick) rethinks his respect for his grandfather Charlie (Peter Maloney) when he sees him mistreating his grandmother Ellen (Blaire Brown). For two hours and a half an entire family has to wonder how authentic their love for each other is when it has become so automatic. After all, love can become as routined as going to work or grabbing an afternoon beer. Thus, leave it to a strong cast to make the struggles of love seem like a grapple between wanting to be virtuous while fearing to be vulnerable.
I cannot decide who was my “favorite character” or actor. Rosenfield gives Alex an inner solidity for being so young and unsure of his future paths, while Zurick and Millan give Christopher and Sarah sprightly personalities that make you miss their quickness when they are gone. Meanwhile, Wilson, McCann, and Maloney give each of their roles enough emotional weight to be weighed by the tons. Each character teeters in degrees between likable and wrongful, but no one can argue that they are not broken or trying their best. Yet, On The Shore of The Wide World might as well be a giant questioning of what happens when your family’s “best” is not good enough? This deep, life-altering question is not answered in two-hours and 30 minutes with a 15 minute intermission, but Director Neil Pepe does well to present this challenge like a live-action film. Although scenes do not always flow into the other, the choppiness adds the fruitful feelings of the audience. You feel like you are watching pieces to a sentimental puzzle come to life before you, and to put each piece together is to repair the picture of a perfect family. On The Shore of The Wide World Will Play Until October 8 at the Atlantic Theater. Click Here To Buy Tickets. Located at the Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street.
