The Language Archive is one of the best plays I’ve seen put on by students in my entire

life. Besides the incredible script, all of the actors had so many things that I loved and the entire

set was incredible. The lighting and costumes fit the play perfectly and the relationships between

characters were perfectly developed. The one major thing that I didn’t love was how the mics

sounded with the masks, but even that couldn’t be helped.

The show wouldn’t have been as perfect as it was without the beautiful script by Julia

Cho. The entire plot is so beautifully heartbreaking, especially the Emma and George plotline.

One specific line that I loved was spoken by Mary when George came to visit her in the bake

shop. George was talking about how he and Mary used to have their own language and how

“Will you take out the trash?” could have so many different meanings depending on how it was

said. George lovingly asked Mary, “Will you take out the trash?” and Mary waited a moment and

then responded, “I’m sorry I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. I’ve never understood

what you’re trying to say.” This was my favorite line in the play because 1.) it’s such a sad line

and signifies the actual end of George and Mary’s marriage, and 2.) it’s marks the death of a

language, which is what the entire play is about and the saddest thing that could happen to

George.

The actors were also such an incredible part of the show. Sam Christie as George was

outstanding. He completely changed his posture for the role and casting him as George was the

perfect choice. I loved his slight, nervous head movements and distinct walk. I’m not sure if Sam

has a lisp or if it was a character choice, but there were times that George said “sh” instead of “s”

and if it was a character choice I would’ve loved for him to fully commit rather than do it half

the time. Olivia Woods as Mary was also an amazing casting decision. I loved her soft voice and

melodic flow of words. One of my favorite Mary moments was her monologue when she was
talking about all the reasons she weeps. I loved how she frequently paused and talked really

quietly so we had to focus really hard to listen to her, but enough to fully hear what she was

saying.

Claire Keel was a perfect choice for Emma. It was heartbreaking how she looked to

George anytime something happened to ask for advice or see his reaction. Her aimless walking

was a perfect character choice and you could tell that she smiled any time she talked, which I

also loved. Although it wasn’t a massive part, I loved Nora Shearer as the teacher. Like most of

the other actors, the line of her body fit the character perfectly and I loved her eyeline, accent,

and gestures. Alta and Resten were hilarious and quite possibly my favorite part of the entire

play. They provided delightful comic relief in a play that was otherwise quite dark. Their accents

were incredible and I loved how Emilyn changed her entire body and personality to fit Alta’s.

One thing that I noticed was that Emilyn’s Alta overshadowed Jackson’s Resten and I’m not sure

if it was on purpose or not.

Another amazing part of the play was the set. The walls made of boxes were an

incredible idea and it was amazing to see them close one moment and open the next with a full

set behind them. The lighting was also incredible. My favorite lighting moments were at the end

of the first act and the end of the show when Emma and George are hugging and there’s a bright

spotlight on them while the rest of the lights are off. It was a very powerful way to end the show.

I also thought the costumes were amazing. Specifically, I loved the teacher’s costume. It was

very flowy and fit Nora’s interpretation of the character perfectly. One other thing that I loved

that doesn’t really fall into any category is the silence during parts of the play. I noticed a lot

during Mary and George’s scenes that there was a lot of silence in between lines that was truly

beautiful and heartbreaking.

 The Language Archive was so incredible that I can only think of a few things that I didn’t

love. The main thing was the mics, specifically on Alta. Because of the masks, it was sometimes

hard to understand some of the characters, which made it difficult to follow the story at times.

Speaking of the masks, I honestly think the show might have been better with normal cloth or

disposable masks because the lights reflected off the shiny plastic and blocked the audience’s

vision at times. The one other thing that I didn’t love was the camera person. The idea of having

the camera connect to the TVs at the front of the stage was really interesting and cool in theory,

but it didn’t make much sense that the camera person was only in a few scenes. The fact that

Alexa was only in the first five-ish scenes makes me think that Mr. Taylor just wanted to play

with some TVs and then had to focus on more important parts of the play.Other than those few

issues, I loved The Language Archive and would gladly see it again.