Five plays and 1 concert in a week. Some people would suggest this constitutes a festival in itself. This morning discussions about staging an actual official arts festival. A plan which seems to mainly rest on finding a name for the venture. Just as difficult as it sounds.
Main theme running through all performances this week is communication when words fail us. In Something Wicked a technician counter balances the flying swooping witch so his movements are slightly ahead of hers and in the opposite direction. He watches her closely and intently; she trusts him completely. There is no shadow of fear as she flies headlong towards the floor and only soars skyward again at the last possible moment. It is the most fascinating part of the whole show. The story I find trite and contradictory, M agrees. There is no conviction in the ending - we'll fight evil, violence and misery with laughter and love, but just for good measure we'll also use guns. I am trying to ignore anti-Americanism but this seems to reflect the general attitude to violence, death and retribution exemplified by selling guns in supermarkets and refusing to let go of the death penalty. It would seem I am almost alone in this - it is universally applauded in the press, although M was also bored and unimpressed.
Cherry Blossom with C at the Traverse, Edinburgh. The play is performed in two languages - Polish and English. Sometimes, but crucially not always, there are subtitles projected onto the stark and puzzle like set. The most moving parts of the play are found in the absence of translation. Movement, tone and expression communicate emotion and plot. It forces the audience to observe, watch and focus closely. This is no time to sit back and let the plot wash over you. It seems more of a Brechtian call to arms than Mother Courage, which I saw only a few weeks ago at the rep. C is less than impressed - hunger gets the better of him.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment