“There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.” – Harold Pinter.

I thought I missed my chance at seeing No Man’s Land at The Lunario March 5th and 5th , but no!  When No Man’s Land advertised, and was listed again for March 29th and the chance to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan on stage together was too good to resist.  

Damian Molony and Owen Teale also surprised me in how much they made this tale of reminiscing and regretting and definitely caught in between.  When the curtain lifted you are taken in by the Mid Summer Night’s Tale scenery that makes up the outside of the room of the setting. The room itself is very grand, truly isolating all the actors into one “arena” so to speak.

First published in 1975, Harold Pinter was an amazing talent in the areas of playwright, authors of screenplays, and as a director, actor, and screen writer. I never knew him.  I wish there was a curriculum that made mandatory the use of playwrights so everyone could be exposed to them at some point – for in Pinter, he seems enlightening to say the least.

Even other performances of No Man’s Land, exhibit the reality of lost opportunities, and what remains when you do not make the most of a life.  The question is, whose thoughts are these?  One person?  Individuals from one’s life?  The contemplation of where these ponderings come from, where they lead and what become of a life unfulfilled come full throttle to your lap, and leave them there to contemplate.  This is a powerful tool to be carried by actors, but actors that are quite capable of handling such a heavy topic.

The power of words is brought center stage thanks to the brilliant work of Howard Pinter.  I love the fact that The National Theatre Live, brings so many productions that cause contemplation.  No Man’s land does in fact take the ponderings and existence of words and juggles, aims, throws, and glances blows with such a dialogue, all the while, you see the drama of life, death, and truly in between fall in various points of view from all actors on stage. 

In this case, and this production, for sure, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” -William Shakespeare.