The Guys

‘The Guys’ is a well-crafted and intelligently written play by Anne Nelson; it is approached with the utmost respect to the people and events that unfolded on that tragic day on 11th September 2001.

Mark Walker's direction was nothing short of brilliant, he treated ‘The Guys’ with the gravity and sensitivity that it deserved. When the lights lit up the set Mark’s attention to detail was obvious, from the smell of coffee from the coffee machine, the photographs of Joan’s sister’s family (whose apartment they were in) the 2001 calendar on the wall, the two tickets for a Broadway show, two tickets for the viewing platform of the Empire State Building to the folder containing documents with the New York fire department logos on
them. The two actors had been perfectly cast and were extremely well-rehearsed.

The action takes place twelve days after the attacks in an apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Once the audience was in place and in full blackout the play began with an audio recording of firstly the second plane crashing into the second tower, then the sound of countless sirens and then the deafening rumble of the collapsing towers, the impact of hearing and not seeing this occur was profoundly chilling, the silence among the audience was palpable. The lights come up and we are then in the apartment with Joan, who is a New York editor waiting for the arrival of Nick, who is a New York Fire Department Captain. When he arrives Nick explains how he lost eight men in the attacks and has to deliver eulogies for them all, he is clearly distressed that he does not know how to write them. Joan agrees to help him. The main part of the play then unfolds with the interaction between the two characters as they work through these eulogies. There is an emotional roller coaster as Nick remembers his colleges and what they were like and Joan sensitively prompts his recollections. Nick leaves when this is complete. The climax of the play is Nick delivering the eulogies whilst a television screen shows footage of the collapsing towers, then the distressed survivors, the rescuers, and the damaged fire trucks and finally a view of the Infinity Pools of the 9/11 memorial.

Joan was played by Kaye Stevens and Nick was played by Dave Russell. These two actors both gave outstanding performances and I cannot praise them enough. Their American accents were consistently perfect throughout. Their interaction with each other was excellent and the dialogue between them flowed with ease for the duration of the play. I have seen both of these actors before in other productions and they have always been incredible, but tonight their performances exceeded anything they had done before!
The lighting and sound quality was very good throughout the performance. The set and the props were outstanding. The costumes were excellent, particularly Nick's uniform which was an authentic New York Fire Department Captains uniform that the actor David had purchased from America. Congratulations to Mark, Kaye and Dave for all their hard work in making ‘The Guys’ such a moving and memorable production. I have never sat through a play before that has so visibly affected an entire audience, there was a hush
and a long pause before the applause and there were many in tears as they left the auditorium. Well done!
 

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