Nice Fish
The plays we choose to see are never picked randomly. Two things inspired our viewing of Nice Fish. First I was informed by a reliable source (thank you Margaret) that Mark Rylance (who I had never heard of, but whom my wife Melissa loved in Wolf Hall) was theater’s greatest living actor. The second is a love of forays into Brooklyn generally and to St. Ann’s Warehouse specifically. Our birthday trip (it was Melissa’s birthday) “over the bridge” (under the tunnel actually via subway) did not disappoint.
Nice Fish takes place on a frozen wasteland of a Minnesota lake where we get to eavesdrop on the random musings of two ice fisherman; one dedicated, the other along for the ride.
Louis Jenkins is in real life an American prose poet. His well-published observations on life have been strung together with co-playwright, Mark Rylance, creating a medley of loosely connected vignettes. Both playwrights are also performers in the play. The coherence lies in the brilliance of the poetry and the magnificence of these actors.
“Older people are exiting this life as if it were a movie . . . ‘I didn’t get it,’ they are saying. He says, ‘It didn’t seem to have any plot.’ ‘No.’ she says, ‘it seemed like things just kept coming at me. Most of the time I was confused . . . and there was way too much sex and violence.’ ‘Violence anyway,’ he says.”
Despite the coldness of the landscape the environment created by this cast of character (others drop in) is warm and wonderful, toasty in fact. Although at times things might border on the absurd, that line is never officially crossed. Skating on that edge, hoping to never fall through the ice, is where the drama of this play lies. The observations sparkle. One is left with countless “wish I’d said that” moments. Credit also goes to the director, Claire Van Kampen, accomplished director, composer and playwright, and the wife of Mark Rylance.
I’m fully converted. I am now a dedicated Mark Rylance follower and will see anything he’s in. Even Nice Fish again. The play has been extended through March 27 and I purchased my next set of tickets that night after the play. I would encourage you to get yours now. Seats are limited.
Watch Mark Rylance quote a prose poem by Louis Jenkins as he accepts his 2008 Tony Award
Watch Mark Rylance quote a prose poem by Louis Jenkins as he accepts his 2011 Tony Award
Review by JMG