The first world war is over, but some battles still rage on.
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The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway's first major novel, follows a group of weary, aimless and frequently inebriated American expatriates searching for identity, redemption and diversion in Europe. Told with spare and tightly written prose, Hemingway's story winds its way through France and Spain and lands in Pamplona where bullfighting and the fiesta rage in the streets. In this world premiere staging from acclaimed New York ensemble Elevator Repair Service, Hemingway's novel comes to life on a stage littered with liquor bottles and cafe chairs.
Elevator Repair Service's interpretations of classic American novels by F Scott Fitzgerald and William Faulkner have garnered critical acclaim across the world. An illuminating stage interpretation of one of America's greatest literary works, The Sun Also Rises(The Select) features the ensemble's trademark sound design, highly energized choreography and re-imagined bullfighting.
A co-production between Elevator Repair Service and New York Theatre Workshop. Commissioned by the Ringling International Arts Festival and John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and in association with the Baryshnikov Arts Center; the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival with funding from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative; and ArtsEmerson: the World on Stage.
There is simply not enough to this production to justify even half its length.
It may not quite deliver full satisfaction as a portrait of dissatisfaction...
There's an archness to the acting style that lifts things off the page.
A brilliant distillation and a genuine theatrical rendition.
A profoundly intelligent piece of theatre.
Just long enough to be a too-long evening in the theatre.
It might not be big or clever, but it is seriously thrilling stuff.
The best thing about this dreary, self-regarding production is the moment when it grinds to a halt.
...a highly charged atmosphere.
Except for a few half-hearted expressionistic touches...the production is unimaginative.
Even those who were warm to it--and I include myself in this--had to admit it went on a bit.
New York stories
Novel approaches
Why the Sun Also Rises is the least successful transatlantic crossing since Titanic
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Saturday August 14, 2010, until Tuesday August 17, 2010. Sat 14th at 7.30pm; Sun 15th at 1.00pm & 7.30pm; Mon 16th at 7.30pm; Tues 17th at 2.00pm. Duration 3 hours 15 minutes approximately.. Tickets: £10-£27. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk
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