THERE are few who will argue that getting Old-Vic-alumnus-turned-Hollywood-legend Jeremy Irons back to Bristol to tread the boards at the historic theatre has been something of a coup for Bristol.

This year, Bristol Old Vic celebrates its 250th birthday – making it the oldest known theatre in the English-speaking world – and what better way to celebrate than getting one of its most famous ‘old boys’ back on the stage as handsome, aging actor James Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s epic masterpiece ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’.

The only problem seems to be that, at 67, Irons himself is an aging actor and remembering so many lines is a problem in itself. This is, however, only a minor issue as the privilege of simply being in the great man’s presence is enough to get the patrons flocking in.

Fortunately Lesley Manville, who plays Tyrone’s morphine-addled wife Mary, is exquisite in her role, and together with Hadley Fraser and Billy Howle, who play sons Jamie and Edmund, they make the three-and-a-half-hour show into an immersive experience for the audience, who watch rapt as the family fails to hold the demons of drink and drug addiction at bay as night falls over Connecticut.

The set, as always for the Old Vic, is immaculate, with skewed perspective and simple but effective lighting taking us on a journey from breakfast to the early hours, with the eerie foghorn marking the passage of time.

‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ is not an evening of light entertainment. Claustrophobic and depressing, there is no ray of light for the family who are watching the sun set on their happiness. It’s a sad, thought-provoking production but there are few better qualified to perform these tough demanding roles and, despite a few stammers and garbled lines – we’ll happily forgive a few hiccups and the very distracting accent from Irons – well worth the ticket price.