Jerusalem – Apollo Theatre, London

A review of the reprise of Jerusalem at London’s Apollo Theatre. What can I add to the effusive praise of other reviewers? More of the same!

Jerusalem

Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem has had a long life in this format – directed by Ian Rickson, with Mark Rylance starring, supported by returning cast members Mackenzie Crook, Gerard Horan, Alan David and Barry Sloane, and with design by Ultz. The production began at the Royal Court in 2009 and has had two previous West End runs and a Broadway transfer. I saw it at the Apollo Theatre back in 2011, and went again recently. I was blown away by Rylance’s performance as Johnny “Rooster” Byron back then, and wanted to see how the production and cast would fare a second time around.

As you may be able to tell from all the five star reviews and the sold out run, the response is very positive once more. There’s a specificity and a universality to the play. It’s the story of St George’s Day in Flintock, the day of the Flintock Fair. Rooster Byron is battling Kennet and Avon council as they try to evict him and his caravan from the land he has occupied for decades. Locals have signed a petition, unhappy with the drug taking, underage drinking and general mayhem that surrounds Byron. And there’s a missing girl. At the same time, Jerusalem is a tale of old myths and gods, of land ownership and freedom. Of Englishness.

In this sense, although there are some elements which instantly mark Jerusalem out as not taking place in the here and now, it is at the same time a good foil for whatever deep issues are working through our national psyche. Since it was first performed we’ve had Brexit, various repressive bills passed through parliament, and more happen to the country besides. When I first saw it, Rylance spoke at the curtain call about the Dale Farm eviction. In 2022, he writes in his programme bio about the decimation of arts education, while a piece by Tom Margetson talks about the Police Bill. This has always been a deeply political production which, along with the universal undercurrent of its themes, has helped to keep it fresh in the decade-long interval.

England’s Green And Pleasant Land

Some programmes are just overpriced cast lists, but I really recommend the programme for Jerusalem as a way to understand it better. There’s a piece in there by Paul Kingsnorth about the curious fact that the English seem particularly disconnected from their stories. Other countries, even within the UK, have kept a connection to their age-old tales, their magical creatures. Not so in England. Could you recite the story of Hereward the Wake? No, neither could I. I don’t even know what a Wake is.

Rooster Byron is the exception. Out in his run down caravan with his chickens; drinking raw eggs for breakfast and supplying all sorts to minors, he is connected to the old magic. This takes the form in the play of a lot of tall tales. Byron met a giant who gave him a golden drum. About a half mile from a Little Chef on the A14. He was kidnapped by parking attendants, once. He was born with all his teeth, and a bullet between them. It’s part of the charm that keeps so many in his wake. But what if all the stories were true? Ultimately, the play leaves us to decide what to make of it.

Something which struck me as I rewatched Jerusalem is that a way in which the country has changed in the interim is that there is even less room for not fitting in. Doing things your own way. Freedom, ultimately (perhaps ironic given all the Brexit and anti-vax rhetoric). The appeal of Byron’s character is that he seems to be connected to something that the rest of us have lost. But it’s not an easy path to walk. As the programme makes clear, Byron wouldn’t even have the chance to argue with the council these days. He would have been evicted long ago.

But Don’t Forget The Dark, Satanic Mills

Alongside the deep-rooted nostalgia of Jerusalem, there are also uncomfortable elements in the story and the characters. Byron spins his teenage hangers-on in a positive way, believes that he’s creating a safe space for him. Is that true? He’s certainly doing his own young son no favours having him as a dad. There’s a real undercurrent to the play of violence and anger and the frustration of wasted opportunities. This is in some ways all the more poignant with several cast members ten years older. Mackenzie Crook’s Ginger, for instance, is probably not going to make it as a DJ at this stage. I understood better this time around the tension and anger beneath their friendship.

The reason that the play works so well in this format is that Rylance is able to inhabit at once everything that Jerusalem holds within it. He plays Rooster as an incredibly complex character, at the same time a sort of modern day folk hero and a dangerous influence; wise and yet naive; well-intentioned and yet chaotic and harmful. It’s impossible to form a black and white opinion of him, he’s a rich tapestry of greys.

And otherwise, the continuities and updates within the production all work well. Ultz’s design is still a perfect setting, a little like one of those magical forest glades that Shakespearean characters always end up in (only with a battered Airstream caravan). The cast is a little more diverse now, and the new additions strong. The direction is still great, building momentum relentlessly between the three acts. And I gave it a standing ovation, just as I did more than a decade previously.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 5/5

Jerusalem on until 10 August 2022