Review by Julia Pirie
O’Neill called Long Day’s Journey into Night a ‘play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood’. He left instructions that it was not to be published it until 25 years after his death and never produced on stage. O’Neill’s wishes were not honoured and the play has been performed to popular and professional acclaim all over the world since. I think perhaps his instinct was right, not because of its raw autobiographical content but because of the sheer unwieldiness of its structure.
In this production Anthony Page directs David Suchet as the father of the Tyrone family and Laurie Metcalf as their ‘dope-fiend’ mother, Mary. Set in the family’s summer house, the action takes place on one day in August 1912 and involves the gradual disintegration of a family which has been treading on thin ice for years: two no-good sons (one a hard-drinker, the other a TB victim) a father scarred by his poverty-stricken upbringing and failure to make a success of a promising theatrical career; and a mother addicted to morphine prescribed for post-natal depression. Lots of tears, lots of ranting and recriminations, disappointingly little blood (though a box of memorabilia of their ‘dead baby’, Eugene, is on a bookcase centre-stage).
I saw the play in March (it is now running in London) and found Suchet’s performance disappointing. No trace of Poirot, but little instead. Was this a piece of miscasting? He seemed to me to lack the physical stature for the role played so well by Olivier in 1973; his movements were altogether too miserly (a deliberate metaphor?) and his voice lacked variety both in tone and volume. Laurie Metcalf however sustained a heart-breaking performance as Mary despite being off stage for almost all the second half. It was her evening; from the beginning you could sense it was only a matter of time before she began to unravel. Trevor White and Kyle Soller, played the Tyrone boys engaged in a series of ‘spats’ with each other and their father – too many, too similarly orchestrated for my mind, never really reaching a satisfying climax.
Perhaps some of this is the director’s fault. We, who produce and direct school plays, are used to cutting; not so the professionals. The script needed pruning. As Eliot observed: ‘Humankind cannot bear too much reality’ and this turned into very long evening of O’Neill’s.
The play is currently at the Apollo Theatre, London.

Wieke explains: ‘With us it’s about breaking down barriers and a different way of working – and that means anybody, everybody can dance. Everyone can be beautiful and everybody can be professional, it doesn’t matter about body shape or your age and your gender. When you see television programmes like You Gotta Dance, none of that is very graceful and elegant! It’s very grounded, very aggressive, very funky and athletic – people need a broader sense of what dance can be!’
And this is just what happened to Wieke who reveals that dance was not her first love as a youngster growing up in Holland. She explains: ‘When I was growing up I was fascinated by the ballet thing but I couldn’t get my head around the pink stuff. I didn’t feel elegant so the whole draw of contemporary dance was good for me – you can be grounded and move in your own way. I came over as a musician in my late teens. I played the flute and just wanted to do music but I ended up doing a BA in Performing Arts!’
After a stunning career, first as a performer, choreographer and teacher at Sadler’s Wells then in education at Northern Ballet Theatre, Wieke is now playing the ‘grown-up’! I would imagine any meeting is brought to life thanks to her straight-talking, focused style. ‘I have to sit in an office being grown up all the time! I spend most of my time in meetings and behind my computer, but my creativity goes into project development and working with artists and they are just so exciting.’ The other side of her job involves overseeing a packed programme of events. Wieke explains: ‘We run our own weekly programme in our building with classes in ballet to hip hop, and from street dance to belly dancing – you name it, and we do it! We are also the regional hub for the national programme The Big Dance which this year is part of the Olympic celebrations.
‘The events include The Schools Pledge which takes place on Friday 18th May. This is a record-breaking attempt to have the most people doing the same dance routine in different locations. It is choreographed by Wayne MacGregor, who has created a routine that works at primary schools level – you can just join in – or if you’re doing A level dance and want to develop the choreography, you can do that as well. And, of course, being Wayne, the routine is artistically interesting.’
The Big Dance is all part of a massive movement to get us dancing but the UK is far ahead of our more open European partners. Wieke explains: ‘The English are very reserved – it is a cliché but it’s true. In Holland it is more acceptable for a man to say I want to have a good relationship with my body and explore it – dance is part of that. But in England you’d never have that in a million years! The flipside is that you have one of the most bursting with creativity cultural sectors that surpasses every other country.’
And that includes the growing understanding of the ‘difficult’ discipline of contemporary dance. Wieke says: ‘What’s nice about contemporary dance is that it encompasses everything from African to street to hip hop. Contemporary dance had a look in the So You Think You Can Dance when a couple performed a contemporary piece. It was so moving. On the whole it’s misunderstood but if you want to dip your toes into that contemporary mullarky without being alienated, go and see Rambert Dance Company, or Phoenix and Matthew Bourne!’
Bound to beat a bop around the sitting room!
Get dancing
The Big Dance, including details of The Schools Pledge on May 18th www.thebigdance2012.com
To find your Regional Dance Agency visit www.danceuk.org
For more details about Yorkshire Dance point your mouse at www.yorkshiredance.com

The Considine Curse is about 14-year-old Mariel and her mother Lynda. The story starts when they come back to England from Australia for Mariel’s grandmother’s funeral. It is only then that the teenager discovers she has five uncles, four aunties and six cousins. Why would her mother keep this from her for her whole life? However, Mariel doesn’t get the warmest of welcomes from her cousins. She starts to wonder if there was a good reason why her mother kept her family from her.
Mariel soon finds out that her instinct is correct as her younger relations start behaving in wild ways…
Gareth P. Jones’s writes really well and gives the reader enough clues to make you want to keep on reading. The characters, a mix of girls and boys, are drawn with such variety that any reader is sure to like one.
My favourite was Mariel because she is very funny and told the story in an exciting way. I didn’t really like her mum because she didn’t tell Mariel about the family, and was also going to make her leave Australia without asking her opinion.
I recommend this book for children in Years 7 and 8 as it is a very good read and will make you laugh and jump out of your skin.

Julia Green’s novel Drawing With Light is a beautifully written, tender tale of 16- year-old Emily whose mother left her and her older sister when Emily was only two. Green evokes the trials and tribulations of living in a cramped caravan during a cold winter while the family’s new house is being built. Emily’s older sister has just left for university, leaving her alone with Dad and pregnant stepmother. It is also a story of young love with Emily becoming involved with Seb and experiencing all the emotions of an evolving friendship.
We see everything through Emily’s eyes as she infuriates and frustrates us, often choosing to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, jeopardising her fledgling relationship. Green takes us through Emily’s tentative journey of discovery and increasing maturity in a very convincing way which many girls will be able to identify with.
The quality of the writing will also serve as a useful model for budding writers to learn from.
I became so engrossed in Emily’s life that I was left desiring a sequel to find out what happens next!

The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire is the sequel to Rick Riordan’s first Egyptian fantasy novel The Red Pyramid. The series of books is entitled ‘The Kane Chronicles’ featuring the brother and sister team Sadie and Carter Kane, two young teenagers who a year before discovered their parents were from an ancient pharaoh bloodline and that they possessed the skills of magic. In this second adventure, the duo cross many countries and encounter dozens of creatures whether they be gods, demons or other magicians to release Ra from his slumber to save the world from the evil Apophis.
It is written, as is the prequel, as though Sadie and Carter are narrating the story through a Dictaphone which Riordan has come into the possession of and is writing
it down.
In the prologue, Riordan explains that he hopes he has related the Kane’s story as it should have been so it leaves the reader questioning whether what was said is actually true.
The story has improved my knowledge of Ancient Egypt but my only criticism is that the book does drag on at times with too many battles between the young magicians that are easily won. But then again, it is a good subliminal message for young readers. All in all, this another great book from Riordan that pupils are sure to like – I cannot wait for the next one!
Part three in the series, The Serpent’s Shadow, will be out on May 1.

Image by Manuel Harlan