Long Day’s Journey Into Night has been awarded the Best Revival prize at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard.
Eugene O’Neill’s tortured drama played at the Apollo theatre last April and starred David Suchet, Laurie Metcalf, Kyle Soller and Trevor White as a family harbouring a dark secret, which is revealed over the course of one turbulent day.
Equally acclaimed for O’Neill’s remarkable script as for the cast’s powerful performances, the show was directed by Anthony Page and featured atmospheric design by former Olivier Award winner Lez Brotherston.
Official London Theatre’s Charlotte Marshall described the affecting production as “leaving the audience winded” and “a mesmerising [experience] that captures the complexity of familial love in all its dangerous and sometimes conflicting intensity,” while The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer commented in his five star review, “At the end of this superb production of Eugene O’Neill’s harrowing autobiographical play, I barely had the strength to get out of my seat. The dramatic impact is shattering. The raw pain, passion and even the occasional clumsiness of the writing are testament to a work of heroic honesty.”
After accepting the award alongside fellow producer Kim Poster, Nimax Theatres’ Executive Director Nica Burns said: “I’m speechless, which is a bit of a first. It’s been an ambition of ours to do this show for seven years. It’s a very difficult play and we tried to cast it for a long time, and then Kim came and brought David Suchet to the table and David Suchet is what made it work.”
The equally thrilled Poster was keen to spread the word that theatre fans who missed out on seeing the show, can watch the production on Digital Theatre, explaining: “Digitaltheatre.com filmed the play and people who want to see this production but didn’t get the opportunity can go to www.digitaltheatre.com and see it for the princely sum of about three quid, which is brilliant because it’s bringing the West End all over the world.”
The production triumphs tonight in a category that also included Macbeth, Old Times and Twelfth Night.