Have you seen Mourning Becomes Electra? What did you think of Helen Mirren's performance? Send us your views.

My husband and I saw the play at the November 17th preview. Although there were a few little blips typical of many opening night performances I thought it was nothing less than spectacular. Helen Mirren was in top form and Eve Best's portrayal of Lavinia was superb. Coming from a Canadian province where there are as many accents as there are bays and coves, I was able to understand and hence forgive the sometimes inconsistent attempts at southern American accents. That in itself is a monumental challenge and, overall, the cast delivered an ensemble performance.

The set was absolutely incredible and minimalist enough to ensure attention would be focused on the acting. I LOVED the play and would see it again in a heartbeat!!!
Gwen Tremblett, Newfoundland, Canada

Beautiful. For once an actress who is held up and not glorified for the sake of it. Plus the added glory of supporting cast of astronomical proportions. See it. Please do.
Mel Smith,

I saw one of the previews and was enthralled by Helen Mirren's magnificent performance. All of the players were excellent and managed to breathe life into the play in spite of the gargantuan set. My only quibble: the accents they used were utterly unfamilar to me, and I have been in many of the 50 states. Most of the Mannon family members were doing a cross between Manhattan, Cincinatti, and Atlanta. (?!?) Other than that, I am happy to report that Mirren's fainting spell and the heart-attack-bed-scene were superb by the time I saw the preview; absolutely nobody laughed because those scenes were gripping.
Lisa, USA

For me the biggest revelation, and best male performance, was from Paul McGann, who I've not seen act on stage before. He created a wholly credible character (and, incidentally, spoke with the most fully consistent accent) and had more authority and presence than anyone on the stage excepting Mirren, Best, and Rebecca Johnson. Let's hope the National can get him to do more for it.

One other point. The actors in Mourning Becomes Electra are trying to simulate a range of accents from the mid-19th Century United States. They do so, for the most part, perfectly believably. Even the strongest British and Irish actors, in a show that clocks in at just under four and a half hours, are occasionally going to hear their vowels slip. So what? Being in the physical presence of the actors, and accepting their human fallibility, is part of the interest and distinctiveness of live theatre.
Simon Wilson, London

It was nice to see Helen Mirren, Paul McGann and Tim Piggot-Smith at the National Theatre, however four and a half hours for any play is way too much! It could do with being cut back by about an hour.
James van-der Heiden, UK

Well, there's melodrama and there's overacting. The heart attack bed scene was hilarious. What with the cumbersome and oft-moved sets, the interchangable accents and the light-hearted staging, I thought this was truly dreadful. Very disappointing and not at all O'Neill. Give it a wide berth.
Cath Dearth, UK

Having just witnessed the 'debacle' that was Mourning, I can only sit in amazement at the above praise. It was horrendous. Not only were the accents appalling, sounding sometimes Irish, sometimes bad southern drawl, the play was ill-concieved and poorly performed.

The lightness of performance has nothing to do with O'Neill's dark forces. I was shocked to find light-hearted jokes where none were intended, and a thoroughly 'London'/tabloid approach to sex, when the work deals with a Puritan New England, not too far from the time of The Scarlett Letter. Everyone giggled and smirked at this most deadly serious melodrama. A disaster.

This is not O'Neill as it is meant to be done.The real O'Neill is bleaker than Ibsen and as fraught with horrific destiny as a Beckett anchored in time.
Peter Carlin, United Kingdom

Breathtaking, just so beautiful and well structured. Can't wait to see it again.
Domino, England

Though I am delighted to have seen this rarely mounted play that has long been a favourite to read, I feel the director missed the boat with the tone of the piece. Angling for more of a Gone with the Wind feel (light, Southern - eek those sundry and uneven approximations of American accents) than the more dense Puritanical tragedy it was written as. Eve Best did quite a wonderful job with a tour de force role.
Sharon, France

I initially thought "Why does it have to be so long?" - but my concerns about falling asleep in the stalls were swept away as I watched the events unfold. Believe me, it's a terrific production and the cast is flawless - Helen Mirren, Eve Best (up for an award, surely) and Paul Hilton are superb.

And Bob Crowley's set is most impressive, as it rolls forward and back to reveal the exterior and interior of the Mannion house... and at one stage, transforms into a ship. The National Theatre has done it again!
Andrew Buckingham, London

Saw this earlier this evening - Helen Mirren was her usual excellent self but THE performance was from Eve Best - she was unbelievably good. Well worth sitting through the 4 hours 30 minutes!
Jac, UK

Outstanding as always. Helen Mirren was beautiful, believable and captivating. I agree completely with your reviewer.
Ann Powell Groner, Denmark

Electra-fying! Amazing stage set and Mirren and newcomer Eve Best are first class. I don't mind sitting through another 4 and a half hours of this.
Jericho, England

Helen Mirren performs with a breath-taking lightness of touch. She has the ability to evoke simultaneous distaste and empathy for her character. She captivates with her body movements. She both seduces and chills with her voice.
Sheila Keating, United Kingdom

I would agree with everything said above bar one aspect; I found that the set was clumsy and distracting. The cast, however, were all but wooden, 4 and a half hours seemed like 4 and a half minutes.
Harry, UK

My wife and I saw the play in previews. Very well done indeed. However, as others have commented, the accents were distracting. Connecticut is not in the south, and no one in the US pronounces 'past' (and similar words) as the English do. It would have been better to simply use UK accents (or the increasingly ubiquitous mid-Atlantic).
George Woodrow iii, USA

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