Yesterday I went up to London's glitzy West End to see the newly returned from Broadway production of Jerusalem. Knowing it had a running time of over 3 hours I had made sure I got an aisle seat well in advance to ensure some comfort. This play was a sell out in it's previous run and on Broadway and yesterday every seat was taken.
Opening with a young girl in fairy wings singing Jerusalem it burst into a late night wild party in the woods and then we met Mark Rylance in the role he has perfected of Rooster. He won both the Tony and Olivier award for the role of the drug dealing Englishman being evicted from his caravan in the Wiltshire woods. He is befriended by the local West Country hicks who go there not only for the drugs and booze and late night parties but also to escape the misery of their lives.
It is St Georges day and the local fair at which Rooster used to be the star and ladies man, where he used to do death defying stunts is in full swing. The new estate wants him evicted in a very timely way that mirrors the residents of Dale Farm. His far fetched stories to a cast that includes Mackenzie Crook, Alan David and Daisy from Downton Abbey range from the ridiculous to the tragic. It is very much Shameless set in the West Country.
There are live chickens wandering the stage, a tortoise and gold fish in supporting roles, real trees and all manner of things hitting the people in the front row from egg shells to dirt and vodka. There is enough bad language to make a sailor blush yet all the little old ladies in the audience seemed to get the joke. The 3 hours flew by and when it ended it was very much a case of wow, that was something different! The tickets might be overly expensive but compared to some other high end plays that are currently running for half that time you definitely get your money worth. Highly recommended.
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