What I liked
Ryan Lisman’s. This is probably without saying, but the show lives and dies on Ryan’s talent for narration and immersion in his character which I found very little to criticize.
I appreciated the general look of the stage, a very minimalistic set of props that only recall a very specific image of a moment as if they were incomplete memories of the past. The actors for the Mother and the Father also had a very specific look and acting style to them that I felt was perfect for those brief roles.
What I didn't like
It may be a huge ask, but the play desperately needed stagehands and/or a stronger direction on how to transition between scenes. The play is about loss and the fading away of connections as a result of tragedy so the presence of the Mother, Father, and Actress should’ve been very brief but seeing them switch props every so often took me out of the experience.
I also felt as if the dialogue could’ve done a bit of trimming. The story felt too halted and reliant on the imagery described by the script, which while intentional to the style of narration, affected the pacing of certain scenes negatively.
My overall impression
My thoughts are mixed. I admire the courage and uniqueness of Nocturne’s script being presented as a play/novel hybrid where actions are both seen and verbally described. Especially with how well the main lead was able to confront such a challenge. The somber, longing tone was absolutely well-conveyed in its entire run as a result of the positives I mentioned.
Unfortunately, I felt as if this resulted in the other actors having very little to do, and combined with the complaint I had about the transitions, made their roles feel even more vestigial. I preferred their visual presence as opposed to having Ryan play even those characters (which would be silly) but compromises were certainly possible. The Son’s narration is at its best when it’s exploring biases and retrospective analysis but becomes distracting when overwhelming scenes in which we could’ve seen more from the other character. (especially with the Actress)
