Mary Lou Dennison

I first heard about this play during Doors Open at the Arts and Letters Club, and the premise immediately caught my attention, particularly with the new movie adaptation coming out soon.

Unfortunately, the play never really lived up to that promise. For a story dealing with such timely themes, it felt surprisingly disconnected from today's conversations.

Even when I was in school many years ago, teachers were encouraged to show how classical texts remained relevant to modern life. I also found it difficult to believe that a right-wing podcaster would dismiss the classics so readily, especially given how often that perspective embraces the traditional canon. Whether that was an issue with the writing or the performance, I'm not sure.

There were, however, several excellent performances. Thomas Gough, as Professor Zuke, was particularly convincing. His accent, pacing, and thoughtful line delivery felt completely authentic. Brynn Bonne also impressed me as Ashley. She brought warmth and sincerity to dialogue that wouldn’t have sounded natural to an inexperienced performer, and she remained fully engaged throughout, whether in quiet moments or more emotional scenes.

The rest of the cast was generally strong, although there were occasional pacing issues. One actor sometimes seemed more concerned with "performing" than inhabiting the character. My biggest disappointment was a supporting actor who consistently projected his lines to the audience instead of the characters beside him and, unless I misheard, even referred to the professor by his own character's name.

As for the production itself, I felt Gregory Light's writing was stronger than his direction. The frequent blackouts became repetitive, and the scene changes felt awkward. Because the music didn't begin until after the lights went down, the audience mainly heard shuffling feet and moving furniture. Better integration of music into the transitions would have made them much smoother.

Overall, Night Journey has the foundation of a good play. With more imaginative direction and a more consistently matched cast, I think it has the potential to become something quite special beyond the Fringe.