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Garrick Theatre: Previewed 2 March, Opened 15 March 2002, Closed 15 June 2002, returned
Garrick Theatre: Previewed 13 Nov 2002, Opened 20 Nov 2002, Closed 15 March 2003
Play by Kenneth Lonergan. Directed by Laurence Boswell with designs by Jeremy Herbert, lighting by Adam Silverman, sound by Fergus O'Hare and costumes by Iona Kenrick.
Set in 1982 at the dawn of the Regan era, Kenneth Lonergan's first play depicts forty-eight hours in the lives of Dennie, Warren and Jessica - three rich and bored middle-class teenagers from New York's Upper West Side.
Caught up in the new yuppie culture (for which money, power and success are all), they have stolen $15,000 from their parents without much of an idea of what to do with it. So, without a care for the consequences, they blow it all on a reckless, hedonistic spending spree!
This is Our Youth is a tragicomic portrayal of youth on the brink of adulthood and reveals the ache at the heart of the slacker generation.
Cast from 13 November 2002 to 11 January 2003: Kieran Culkin as 'Warren', Colin Hanks as 'Dennis' and Alison Lohman as 'Jessica'.
Cast from 16 January 2003: Freddie Prinze Jr, Chris Klein and Heather Burns.
Kieran Culkin is currently a huge name in the US, thanks to his award winning lead performances in two major movies just released. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys produced by Jodie Foster and Igby Goes Down opposite Claire Danes and Susan Sarandon. He is already very well know to film audiences for his central performances in The Cider House Rules, The Mighty and She's All That.
The son of Tom Hanks, Colin is already well known internationally for his lead role in the popular high school TV drama Roswell (shown on C4). He is now establishing a major movie career with leads in the recent Orange County" and Get Over It. He has also been seen recently in Dreamwork's Band of Brothers.
Alison Lohman is tipped to become a superstar on the back of her astounding debut feature performance in Peter Kosminky's White Oleander opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellweger. The movie is released in the US next month, and in the UK in November. She has just completed filminq the lead in Ridley Scotts' new film Matchstick Men.
Age limit: 14 years and older
This production was originally seen at the Garrick Theatre: Previewed 2 March, Opened 15 March 2002, Closed 15 June 2002 (no performances from 22 to 24 April). During this time the following casts played:
2 March to 20 April: Hayden Christensen as 'Dennis', Jake Gyllenhaal 'Warren' and Anna Paquin 'Jessica'.
25 April to 15 June: Matt Damon as 'Dennis', Casey Affleck 'Warren' and Summer Phoenix 'Jessica' (30 May to 12 June inclusive the role of 'Dennis' was played by Adam Rayner).
Kenneth Lonergan's other plays include Lobby Hero which was staged at the Donmar Warehouse from April to May 2002 before transferring to the New Ambassadors Theatre from June to August 2002.
News about the show
On 28 January 2002: It is expected that this production will open at the Garrick Theatre in March 2002. Further details to be announced.
On 12 February 2002: Full booking details where announced and booking opened: The production will preview from 1 March and open on 15 March 2002. The cast will be: Hayden Christensen as 'Dennis', Jake Gyllenhaal 'Warren' and Anna Paquin 'Jessica'.
Hayden Christensen plays 'Anakin Skywalker' in the new Star Wars Trilogy and recently received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the acclaimed Life As A House with Kevin Kline and Kirstin Scott Thomas.
Jake Gyllenhaal is best known for his breakthrough performances in October Sky and The Bubble Boy. He stars opposite Jennifer Aniston in the forthcoming The Good Girl and will appear with Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon in Goodbye Hello.
Anna Paquin, who plays 'Rogue' in X-Men, won an Oscar for her performance in the 1993 film The Piano and recently made her New York stage debut in Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living.
On 21 February: The first preview on 1 March 2002 was cancelled. There will be a matinee on Thursday 7 March at 3.00pm during the preview period.
On 4 April 2002: A new booking period covering performances from 22 April to 15 June 2002 was announced - there will also be a new cast from 22 April 2002: Matt Damon as 'Dennis', Casey Affleck 'Warren' and Summer Phoenix 'Jessica'.
Matt Damon leapt to fame with the Oscar winning Good Will Hunting along side friend Ben Affleck. He has since gone on to star in many major films including Saving Private Ryan, The Talented Mr Ripley, Dogma and Ocean's Eleven.
Casey Affleck is rapidly following in brother Ben's footsteps as one of Hollywood's hottest young stars with his lead roles in Ocean's Eleven opposite George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt, and in Soul Survivors.
Summer Phoenix, the latest star to emerge from her famous family, is currently enjoying enormous success with Dinner Rush and the Cannes hit Esther Kahn.
On 9 April 2002: Performances from Monday 22 April to Wednesday 24 April inclusive have been cancelled. Tickets for performances from 10 to 15 June are now no longer on sale due to the uncertainty of Matt Damon appearing.
On 25 April 2002: Tickets for performances from 10 to 15 June are now on sale but it has been confirmed that Matt Damon will be leaving the cast on 8 June 2002.
On 9 May 2002: It has been announced that Matt Damon will be away from the play from 30 May to 12 June inclusive during which time the role of 'Dennis' will be played by Adam Rayner. Matt Damon will then return on 13 June for the final five performances.
On 27 May 2002: An extra performance has been announced for Friday 14 June at 4.00pm. Matt Damon will be appearing at the performance.
On 22 October 2002: Booking opened for the return of This is our Youth at the Garrick Theatre from 13 November 2002. The first cast consists of Kieran Culkin as 'Warren', Colin Hanks as 'Dennis' and Alison Lohman as 'Jessica', they will play up to 11 January 2003.
Kieran Culkin is currently a huge name in the US, thanks to his award winning lead performances in two major movies just released. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys produced by Jodie Foster and Igby Goes Down opposite Claire Danes and Susan Sarandon. He is already very well know to film audiences for his central performances in The Cider House Rules, The Mighty and She's All That.
The son of Tom Hanks, Colin is already well known internationally for his lead role in the popular high school TV drama Roswell (shown on C4). He is now establishing a major movie career with leads in the recent Orange County" and Get Over It. He has also been seen recently in Dreamwork's Band of Brothers.
Alison Lohman is tipped to become a superstar on the back of her astounding debut feature performance in Peter Kosminky's White Oleander opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellweger. The movie is released in the US next month, and in the UK in November. She has just completed filminq the lead in Ridley Scotts' new film Matchstick Men.
On 5 November 2002: At the annual London Evening Standard Theatre Awards this production was shortlisted in one category: Outstanding Newcomer (Jake Gyllenhaal). The winners will be announced on Monday 25 November 2003. Click here for the full shortlist...
On 25 November 2002: At the annual London Evening Standard Theatre Awards this production won: Outstanding Newcomer (Jake Gyllenhaal). Click here for the full list of winners...
On 13 December 2002: It was announced that the performances on 13, 14 and 15 January 2003 have been cancelled - it was also announced that from 16 January 2003 the new cast will feature Freddie Prinze Jr, Chris Klein and Heather Burns.
Extracts from the reviews:
third cast November 2002 ( Kieran Culkin/ Colin Hanks/ Alison Lohman)
"...Hanks junior, so good in the charming but stupid new film Orange County, plays another child of priviledge here, but is more strained and monotonous on stage than on screen. His sidekick, Warren (Culkin), wasted and spotty, is a delightfully original creation. Alison Lohman, despite a very bad wig...[is] a new Shirley MacLaine in the making I'd say..." The Daily Mail
"...It's such a well-written piece, so recognisably true to the shambling late-teenage world we all pass through, that it can accommodate ingenue acting that elsewhere would look dangerously exposed. Up to a point. There's no getting away from the need for the palpable presence of youthful promise... It's a testament to the quality of Lonergan's writing, and the thrilling appeal of Culkin and Lohman's performances, that Hanks's limitations don't really dent the evening's enjoyability..." The Daily Telegraph
"...There's nothing blatantly opportunistic about the casting of Colin Hanks, who is the son of Tom, or Kieran Culkin, who is Macaulay's brother, or Alison Lohman, who appears with Michelle Pfeiffer in the movie White Oleander. They certainly did not leave me feeling that I had overrated a dark comedy which makes you feel the confusion of the poor little rich kids who came of age in the go-getting 1980s. Still, thanks maybe to a collective touch of nerves, all three seemed more monochrome last night than they might have been... But you still see what Lonergan meant by ruefully calling this finely observed, wittily written play This Is Our Youth..." The Times
From second cast April 2002 (Matt Damon/ Casey Affleck/ Summer Phoenix)
"...Actually, I didn't like it a lot. It's a grungy style-drama that has 'So what?' written all over it. Still, it's got memorable moments, is often very funny and it's not short on glamour... Damon is a bit too old and one-note, but Affleck as the goofy Warren has a winning tenderness about him and Summer Phoenix as the nervy girlfriend is terrific. It's like a jazz event - a riot of jangling solos. Watchable and slightly scary." The Express
"...The setting may be New York 1982 rather than Britain in 1956; but, beneath the whiff of pot, this is a quaintly old fashioned kitchen sink drama that relies for its effect on Laurence Boswell's buoyant direction, the charms of its young Hollywood stars, and most of all the hindsight of the audience - the majority of whom will have first had knowledge of just how ghastly the 1980s turned out... As a social document the play lacks breadth and depth; as a coming of age drama it does the business. Most cheering of all it gives its trio of stars the chance to prove they are not just pretty faces. Summer Phoenix hits all the right notes as nervy fashion student Jessica, and Matt Damon is horribly authentic as the cocky Dennis who fancies himself as a wheeler dealer. As the gauche Warren, Casey Affleck reminds you of an overgrown puppy who has not yet got his arms and legs under control, let alone his tongue or emotions." The Guardian
"...Lonergan's play, now revitalised by the presence of Matt Damon, is a Mike Leighish incursion into the disaffected youth of 1982. Or rather three youths, each still blissfully unaware of the destructive-creative energy of punk or the coming demands of adult, suburban life... This is an actor's play. Matt Damon slips easily into the role of Dennis, all seedy entrepreneurism and hectoring "I Created You" anger followed each time by sweetness, lies and smiles. As Warren, Casey Affleck is magnificently gawky, arrhythmic and out-of-kilter even with himself, feeding Dennis the adoration he quite openly demands. Only Summer Phoenix as Jessica comes over as occasionally forced..." The Independent
"...Damon, for a start, is ten years too old for the role of a small-time teenage drug dealer... Matt has a big wide slash of a smaile and is immensely cool and contained on stage. His voice is in good order, too... But Laurence Boswell's production has lost much of its zip and zest... Summer - so brilliant in the recent film, The Believer - seems too jerky and self-consciously mature... The play seems inhabited by new visitors, not recreated afresh." The Daily Mail
From original cast March 2002 (Hayden Christensen/ Jake Gyllenhaal/ Anna Paquin)
"As Warren in the American playwright Kenneth Lonergan's new play This Is Our Youth, Jake Gyllenhaal creates one of the great late- adolescent characters of recent drama. He's gauche, accident-prone, sweet... This Is Our Youth is set in Manhattan in 1982; it's a kind of theatre cousin to Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, set in the era of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll... Gyllenhaal's performance is perfect - and so rounded that it takes a very long time till you even begin to like this Warren, let alone to realise that he's the central character in the play. I love his body-language: stiff, gawky, artless... Christensen handles his very long Act Two speech, helplessly revealing Dennis's absurd self-contradictions, extremely well. And Anna Paquin catches brilliantly Jessica's assured/confused contradictions, taking her to the cusp of vivid caricature without ever sacrificing credibility... this is Gyllenhaal's stage debut. His performance enriches the whole West End." The Financial Times
"...The play sometimes suffers from the aimlessness that plagues the characters, particularly in the second half, but its strength lies in the characterisation, amusing dialogue and offbeat scenes... Laurence Boswell's strong production brings the feckless youths to entertaining life, courtesy of three hot young names from Hollywood: Anna Paquin, Hayden Christensen and Jake Gyllenhaal... Gyllenhaal makes the hopelessly confused Warren strangely loveable. He's touching, too, especially when his 'whatever' attitude melts away to reveal something broken inside. It's an impressive stage debut in a play that's funny, moving and beautifully written..." The Times
"...Lonergan, who wrote and directed that terrific film about family relations You Can Count on Me, encourages more cynicism than admiration with this inert piece, magnificently acted by three American film stars. This is Our Youth belongs to that tired genre in which rich, slackly-parented American kids, turn nonchalantly criminal, not to mention drug-crazy, in their late, mixedup teens... Film star Hayden Christensen's Dennis, all lean, loping and comic, fires the evening. He's absolutely riveting as a smooth-talking, exploiter and reeks of menace, narcissism and vulnerability in one fell swoop." The London Evening Standard
"Young people are already flocking to this wonderful play by the American dramatist Kenneth Lonergan, largely I suspect because it stars three very hot, very young transatlantic screen actors... What matters here, though, is that they can all cut it on stage, in a play which hilariously and heart-catchingly captures that moment when adolescents find themselves, confused and incredulous, on the threshold of adulthood... Not a lot happens in the play's two hours and most of what does is bad, but then you could say the same of Waiting For Godot. What keeps you hooked is Lonergan's ability to get under the skin of his characters... It is full of delicious humour, with Lonergan nailing the excruciating rites of adolescent passage... Laurence Boswell directs this marvellous trio of actors with both confidence and an illuminating attention to detail... Anyone who has ever smoked a joint or kissed anyone will love This Is Our Youth." The Daily Telegraph |
