On Sunday, I had the opportunity to see Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, starring Mark Rylance as Johnny “Rooster” Byron a derelict Pied Piper of sorts who lives in the woods outside the fictional English town of Flintock. The play began at the Royal Court Theater in London before transferring to the West End, and now Broadway. All the action in the play takes place over a 24 hour period, on St. George’s Day, which is also the day of the town’s Mayfair, outside Rooster’s trailer. Johnny is often visited by teenagers looking to get drunk and high, as well as Ginger, a second-rate DJ who is older than the others but just as immature, having never grown out of the drug-addled lifestyle. There are occasional visits from an eccentric older man called “The Professor” as well as Wesley, a saloonkeeper who has known Rooster since they were children, and has a friendly rapport with him that is strained by Rooster's behavior.
The main conflict in the play deals with Rooster’s impending eviction from his land, as he doesn’t pay taxes, sells drugs, gives alcohol to minors, and often gets into bar fights, so he is considered an all-around bad influence and eyesore. He seems to represent the pastoral past of England who is being trampled by civilization, the "dark Satanic mills" of the hymn. He's considered an embarrassment to the town because he embodies many vices and temptations.
Jay Sullivan (taking over for John Gallagher Jr.) is Lee is the sort-of the prodigal son who is leaving to go to Australia, and the leader of the gang of high school kids who currently hang around Rooster's trailer. Molly Ranson and Charlotte Mills appear as Pea and Tanya, two high school girls reveling in the drunken debauchery. Aimee-Fifon Edwards plays Phaedra, the reigning May Queen who is a rather ethereal presence, walking around in fairy wings and speaking with a Welsh accent. She makes sporadic appearances at the top and bottom of acts and she doesn't have a real scene until the very end of the play. Her first two appearances consist of singing the hymn "Jerusalem" by William Blake and Sir Hubert Parry alone onstage at the top of each act.
Many of the characters don’t have much stage time as well. There are a couple city officials who set up the conflict at the top of the show but don't do much else to advance it, not appearing again until Act III. Especially gypped is Geraldine Hughes as Rooster’s ex-wife and mother of his child Marky, who barely speaks as well. I would have liked to have seen more time devoted to this subplot of how Rooster relates to his family. His son seems to want to have nothing to do with him because he gets mistreated at school for having a deadbeat dad. Having Marky around brings out a completely different side of Rooster than the beer-guzzling former daredevil that he appears to be for the rest of the play. To most of the hangers-on, Rooster is just an old drunk with drugs, only Ginger knows his past of being an attraction people came to see perform stunts at the annual fair.
Mark Rylance does a great job playing this character who is often surrounded by people but still very lonely at the same time, as evidenced by his ability to memorize Trivial Pursuit questions. Rooster Byron is a proud man who doesn't intend to give up his way of life anytime soon, citing a long list of famous relatives and the rarity of his blood type. I had previously seen Mr. Rylance perform in La Bete at this same theater back in January, and I enjoyed his performance much more in this play, where he got to show more of his range as an actor. He does a great job at playing idiot savants. The show's appeal is also increased by a wonderful and naturalistic set showing the countryside where Rooster resides, just outside civilization. The show has a few weeks left on Broadway before returning to London, where it first premiered in 2009. The play is three hours long but it certainly makes for memorable viewing, and I will be interested to see other plays written by Jez Butterworth, and unraveling the many layers of this one.
