Review: Strange Interlude, National Theatre (Lyttelton)

This epic story (three hours + interval) concerns Nina and the men who love her throughout her life – father, lover, husband, son and “uncle” – although the only man she truly loved was killed in the first world war shortly before the start of the play which continues until the 1940s. Anne-Marie Duff is excellent as Nina, as is Charles Marsden as Charles Edwards, her “uncle Charlie” whose sardonic soliloquy opens the play. The use of soliloquy and frequent asides to the audience is slightly off-putting at first but I soon got used to it and welcomed the way it provides insights into the characters. Following Desire under the Elms and the wonderful Long Day’s Journey into Night last year, it is terrific to see this revival of interest in Eugene O’Neill.

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