3 hours in a London theatre is probably one of the best ways to begin a Saturday night out, provided that you don’t have to use the Northern line to return home. But if the play is good, well, actually you need this extra time in order to talk about it…
To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed; the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air; the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner.
I begin with this rather aggressive statement by Eleanor Duse, famous theatre actress of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century, because every time I go to the theatre and I sit next to God (since as a student I cannot afford more than 10-15 pounds), I can only hope that the play will be what is originally meant to be: a form of catharsis. This time it was the Apollo Theatre, to where me and two friends went to watch the last performance of the celebrated Edward Albee’s play ‘’Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’’ in its Tony award-wining Broadway production. While my friends had never seen the play, I entered the theatre that Saturday with great expectations. ‘’Who’s Afraid...’’ is one of my favourite plays. I studied it twice in my university, I have read it many more times since I also had a project of comparing the original with its Greek translation, I have watched the classic Mike Nichols film with Taylor and Burton and I also saw the Greek staging two years ago. I could nearly say that I know it by heart and as much as I love it, when I go to see it again I need to feel like rediscovering it. I need to be enchanted… or at least, surprised.
A great deal of the play’s power is based on language. You have four people sitting in a living, drinking and talking. But their tongue is sharper than a knife. Lies, fun and games (Humiliate the Host, Hump the Hostess, Get the Guests) are mixed in a cocktail that results in a devastating exposure of the naked truth of the characters. The painful nature of love, a love found at the opposite edge of the romanticized fairy tale stories, the frustrations of marriage, the roles that we willingly occupy to help us escape a shattering reality and then we can’t escape them come to the surface through the characters’ words. There is nothing more heart breaking than Martha’s ‘confession’ to Nick about her love for George and her fear that one day he will break under the pressure of her punishment ‘’because he made the terrible, the unforgivable mistake of loving me’’. Martha and George: sad, sad, sad...There is some light for both couples in the end of the play, since they managed to put an end to their illusions. Nick and Honey have a chance not to make the same mistakes, not to end up ‘’sad, sad, sad’’.
The performances were simply brilliant. Kathleen Turner is Martha in flesh and blood, aggressive in the right points, heartbreaking in her confessions, close and distant at the same time, a figure dominating the stage. Bill Irwing as George was a pleasant surprise. George’s part is tricky: George seems to be the succumbing, dominated husband and the actor is in danger to be completely overshadowed by Martha’s character. But by the end of the play, the balance has been distorted, the power relations are changed and George takes the lead. Bill Irwing did an amazing job. Mireille Enos as Honey was delightful, clever not to take the part into the ridicule but rather she let the tragedy of her heroine to emerge. I didn’t agree with the way David Harbour portrayed Nick but I have to recognise the fact that he was consistent with the performing line he chose. Anthony Page did a good job in directing the actors and allowing the text to come to the light without been overshadowed by showing off tricks. It is interesting to note that Edward Albee watched the premiere of the play and was very satisfied. Important if we think that he was frustrated by the film because he felt it was all about the couple in life of Taylor and Burton.
And since the film came up, I recently read that Hollywood discuss a remake and people are in search of the idea cast. So, I cannot resist proposing some names:
Martha: Kathleen Turner/Kathy Bates/ Susan Sarandon
George: Ed Harris
Honey: Maggie Gyllenhaal
George:Paul Bettany
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα theatre. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
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Τρίτη 30 Σεπτεμβρίου 2008
The Representative
The Representative is a play but it’s also a fact: Nazis, Jews, Clergy, the Pope. Find the weakest link. Deport it. Gas it. Horrendous? It really happened.
The play is part of the ‘Rediscoveries season’ at Finborough theatre. It is a season dedicated to the rediscovery of plays but the staging of Rolf Hochhuth’s The Representative is also a reminder of a historical fact that some can argue it can never be forgotten. The Holocaust was definitely one of the events that changed the face of humanity forever. After such an act of massive extermination, people knew that actually there are no limits to cruelty. Even if the plan was conceived inside a few distorted minds, it took the collaboration of many and the approval –open or silent- of much more to be executed. There is a massive guilt in our post-modern era caused by the innocent blood sacrificed. Of course, this is not the case for everyone. Most of us rarely think about it as we lead our ordinary, everyday lives, reading the latest news on the Middle East crisis and nodding sympathetically for the victims. But after sitting in the theatre and becoming engaged in the debates and the dilemmas the play brings forth, you feel shaken; the way a good play should shake you.
The basic theme of the play is the silence of Pope Pius XII about the extermination of the Jews all over Europe. There are two main characters; Gerstein, a Christian SS Officer sympathetic to the Jews who is trying to alert the Church, and a young Jesuit priest, Father Ricardo, who, facing the hypocrisy of the higher clergy, is gradually losing faith in the Church he represents. Around these two a bunch of different characters revolve, placed there either to defend the Pope (while at the same time they involuntarily expose the corruption of the Church by politics) or to remind us of the tragic fate awaiting the Jews. In between these two sets of characters, stands the most terrifying of all: the Doctor, the personification of evil in front of whom everyone is helpless.
The theatre is small, with a round stage where the audience sits literally next to the actors. This means that you feel like an observer and a participant at the same time. It is easy to be carried away by some really passionate performances and lose sense of time, especially after the second act where the drama is accelerated and culminates in a forceful and shocking finale. A three hour play full of talking and little action may seem a heavy load for a summer night but if you let yourself absorb the vibrations of the dialogue and the expressions of the actors, you will enjoy the experience. Kate Wasserberg’s direction is taking advantage of every available corner while her guidance to the actors was essential. Clever changes of setting, appropriate use of music, and atmospheric use of lighting along with excellent costumes contribute to the performances.
As by now most of you will have figured out, the dynamics of the play lay on the dialogues. Thus, it’s all about actors. Fortunately, this staging can boast an amazing cast of sixteen actors, who are ideally chosen. Some of them are doubling or tripling parts but their passing from one character to the other is so successful, to the point where one or two of them are hardly recognisable. Striking example is Matthew Bates whose main part is Jacobson, a Jew facing deporting, but he also appears as an Italian Militiaman and as a Writer in the Vatican. The way he changes his voice, his gaze, his posture from one part to the other is something to be seen, although in the end his heartbreaking Jacobson is what most of the audience will carry with them. David Kershaw is The Doctor. Now, the script is in his favour: he has some of the most memorable lines plus he is a character that brings brains as a gift because he couldn’t find flowers. The way David Kershaw portrays him makes him just terrifying. Although he hardly raises his voice, he is constantly smiling and he rarely appears physically threatening, you just have to look in his eyes to see the evil he represents. A gripping performance that brings the tension in the parts that seem a bit flat. Steve Sarossy is Gerstein, a character that on the first place gains your sympathy. Yes, he wears the SS uniform but it is just a cover for the Resistance. He tries to alert the Church. He helps a Jew. But, in the end of the play, he is still in the beginning, full of good intentions but failing to make a difference. Steve Sarossy’s performance manages to communicate this ambivalence and also the internal hell his character goes through. He is delightful in the last scene, where he smiles in Gerstein’s small triumph over The Doctor. Father Ricardo is played by Oliver Pengelly and as The Doctor calls him ‘he is a delightful apologist of the Christ’. His initially almost naïve character is transformed into a martyr figure, that will steal hearts. Leander Deeny is surprisingly convincing as a dedicated Sergeant of the SS, absolutely believable in the pleasure he derives from his power to punish. William McGeough and Denise McCormack as a Jewish couple bring the much wanted warmth and humanity in the sterilised environment of offices and concentration camps. Michael Lovatt tripling the parts of a priest, a Swiss guard and the Head of the German Police holds your attention in every one of his appearances onstage while Stephanie Thomas is responsible for unveiling one of the most tragic figures in the play. The older generation of actors contribute the experience that makes them look imposing on stage, figures that claim your attention. Simon Molloy’s Pope is full of dignity in his white silk, Jack Klaff’s Cardinal successfully balances the comic and the threatening element while as a deported Jew manages to elicit sympathy, Robert Gillespie has depth and passion, Peter Stenson as the Nuncio and a servant is charming and Edmund Dehn is heartbreaking as a father standing by his son and his double part of a grandfather striving to protect his family.
I am sure that in the end of the play you will be sitting uncomfortably because the food for thought that is offered is not easily digested. When Jacobson in the concentration camp says that the only thing that shocks him now is that the world let this happen, you may hear a little internal voice asking you: ‘would you let it happen?’
The play is part of the ‘Rediscoveries season’ at Finborough theatre. It is a season dedicated to the rediscovery of plays but the staging of Rolf Hochhuth’s The Representative is also a reminder of a historical fact that some can argue it can never be forgotten. The Holocaust was definitely one of the events that changed the face of humanity forever. After such an act of massive extermination, people knew that actually there are no limits to cruelty. Even if the plan was conceived inside a few distorted minds, it took the collaboration of many and the approval –open or silent- of much more to be executed. There is a massive guilt in our post-modern era caused by the innocent blood sacrificed. Of course, this is not the case for everyone. Most of us rarely think about it as we lead our ordinary, everyday lives, reading the latest news on the Middle East crisis and nodding sympathetically for the victims. But after sitting in the theatre and becoming engaged in the debates and the dilemmas the play brings forth, you feel shaken; the way a good play should shake you.
The basic theme of the play is the silence of Pope Pius XII about the extermination of the Jews all over Europe. There are two main characters; Gerstein, a Christian SS Officer sympathetic to the Jews who is trying to alert the Church, and a young Jesuit priest, Father Ricardo, who, facing the hypocrisy of the higher clergy, is gradually losing faith in the Church he represents. Around these two a bunch of different characters revolve, placed there either to defend the Pope (while at the same time they involuntarily expose the corruption of the Church by politics) or to remind us of the tragic fate awaiting the Jews. In between these two sets of characters, stands the most terrifying of all: the Doctor, the personification of evil in front of whom everyone is helpless.
The theatre is small, with a round stage where the audience sits literally next to the actors. This means that you feel like an observer and a participant at the same time. It is easy to be carried away by some really passionate performances and lose sense of time, especially after the second act where the drama is accelerated and culminates in a forceful and shocking finale. A three hour play full of talking and little action may seem a heavy load for a summer night but if you let yourself absorb the vibrations of the dialogue and the expressions of the actors, you will enjoy the experience. Kate Wasserberg’s direction is taking advantage of every available corner while her guidance to the actors was essential. Clever changes of setting, appropriate use of music, and atmospheric use of lighting along with excellent costumes contribute to the performances.
As by now most of you will have figured out, the dynamics of the play lay on the dialogues. Thus, it’s all about actors. Fortunately, this staging can boast an amazing cast of sixteen actors, who are ideally chosen. Some of them are doubling or tripling parts but their passing from one character to the other is so successful, to the point where one or two of them are hardly recognisable. Striking example is Matthew Bates whose main part is Jacobson, a Jew facing deporting, but he also appears as an Italian Militiaman and as a Writer in the Vatican. The way he changes his voice, his gaze, his posture from one part to the other is something to be seen, although in the end his heartbreaking Jacobson is what most of the audience will carry with them. David Kershaw is The Doctor. Now, the script is in his favour: he has some of the most memorable lines plus he is a character that brings brains as a gift because he couldn’t find flowers. The way David Kershaw portrays him makes him just terrifying. Although he hardly raises his voice, he is constantly smiling and he rarely appears physically threatening, you just have to look in his eyes to see the evil he represents. A gripping performance that brings the tension in the parts that seem a bit flat. Steve Sarossy is Gerstein, a character that on the first place gains your sympathy. Yes, he wears the SS uniform but it is just a cover for the Resistance. He tries to alert the Church. He helps a Jew. But, in the end of the play, he is still in the beginning, full of good intentions but failing to make a difference. Steve Sarossy’s performance manages to communicate this ambivalence and also the internal hell his character goes through. He is delightful in the last scene, where he smiles in Gerstein’s small triumph over The Doctor. Father Ricardo is played by Oliver Pengelly and as The Doctor calls him ‘he is a delightful apologist of the Christ’. His initially almost naïve character is transformed into a martyr figure, that will steal hearts. Leander Deeny is surprisingly convincing as a dedicated Sergeant of the SS, absolutely believable in the pleasure he derives from his power to punish. William McGeough and Denise McCormack as a Jewish couple bring the much wanted warmth and humanity in the sterilised environment of offices and concentration camps. Michael Lovatt tripling the parts of a priest, a Swiss guard and the Head of the German Police holds your attention in every one of his appearances onstage while Stephanie Thomas is responsible for unveiling one of the most tragic figures in the play. The older generation of actors contribute the experience that makes them look imposing on stage, figures that claim your attention. Simon Molloy’s Pope is full of dignity in his white silk, Jack Klaff’s Cardinal successfully balances the comic and the threatening element while as a deported Jew manages to elicit sympathy, Robert Gillespie has depth and passion, Peter Stenson as the Nuncio and a servant is charming and Edmund Dehn is heartbreaking as a father standing by his son and his double part of a grandfather striving to protect his family.
I am sure that in the end of the play you will be sitting uncomfortably because the food for thought that is offered is not easily digested. When Jacobson in the concentration camp says that the only thing that shocks him now is that the world let this happen, you may hear a little internal voice asking you: ‘would you let it happen?’
Backstage
The un-official guide to aspiring ASMs (don’t worry if you don’t know what ASM is-it’s all part of the training)
So, you always wanted to work in a theatre but you have never done it before and on top of that your studies are in International Politics. Don’t despair. There is a backstage door that will lead you to the magic theatre-land. Are you ready?
First of all, bear in mind that you have to start low. Don’t expect to walk into the National or the RSC and tell the people ‘I always thought that it would be great if someone would stage Macbeth using giant puppets’ and expect that they will bow in front of the grandeur of your vision and give you the job. As my friend Nicole (who actually is a theatre person) says: ‘If the National takes the time to throw my application into the Thames, I will be honoured.’
Then, try to make yourself useful. Volunteer to go for prop shopping-the director/producer/designer will love you. Of course, that means that you have to spend lots of mornings in malls, looking for all sorts of weird things that you actually don’t know how to describe to the sales persons. So, you’ll find yourself asking for fake brains, baby dolls to look 6 months old, metal first aid boxes that do not exist anymore and other stuff like the above. This is not the tricky part though. To be considered successful you must keep the budget to the minimum, so before actually buying anything, it is highly advisable to have done good research.
Sewing and mending will give you a great advantage. There is nothing more useful backstage than a person who can sew a button, mend a hole in a costume and know how to clean fake blood stains. You will be the hero of the show and slowly your services will become essential and you irreplaceable.
Keep always your patience, be polite, smile and act as a calming force in the craze of the dressing rooms. Volunteer to help actors with costumes or quick changes but do not get in their feet, especially when they are getting into character.
Keep things in order, develop a routine and save time. Nothing could be more reassuring than a person backstage who seems to make everyone else’s job a bit easier. Usually people appreciate this and will want to work with you again.
Hang out with the cast and the producers. Keep in touch and don’t be ashamed to ask them to recommend you to other theatre people. Theatre is one of the jobs that need connections, so the sooner you make them, the better for your career.
Remember that in the beginning you’ll probably need to volunteer a lot, so don’t expect to make money. Although it is good for other people to know that your time is valuable and your services worthwhile, it takes time to move from ‘services’ to a friend to professional services. But as we mentioned before, patience is a virtue.
So, if you still think that this is what you want to do, go for it. Theatre needs you.
ASM=Assistant Stage Manager will probably be your first official post.
So, you always wanted to work in a theatre but you have never done it before and on top of that your studies are in International Politics. Don’t despair. There is a backstage door that will lead you to the magic theatre-land. Are you ready?
First of all, bear in mind that you have to start low. Don’t expect to walk into the National or the RSC and tell the people ‘I always thought that it would be great if someone would stage Macbeth using giant puppets’ and expect that they will bow in front of the grandeur of your vision and give you the job. As my friend Nicole (who actually is a theatre person) says: ‘If the National takes the time to throw my application into the Thames, I will be honoured.’
Then, try to make yourself useful. Volunteer to go for prop shopping-the director/producer/designer will love you. Of course, that means that you have to spend lots of mornings in malls, looking for all sorts of weird things that you actually don’t know how to describe to the sales persons. So, you’ll find yourself asking for fake brains, baby dolls to look 6 months old, metal first aid boxes that do not exist anymore and other stuff like the above. This is not the tricky part though. To be considered successful you must keep the budget to the minimum, so before actually buying anything, it is highly advisable to have done good research.
Sewing and mending will give you a great advantage. There is nothing more useful backstage than a person who can sew a button, mend a hole in a costume and know how to clean fake blood stains. You will be the hero of the show and slowly your services will become essential and you irreplaceable.
Keep always your patience, be polite, smile and act as a calming force in the craze of the dressing rooms. Volunteer to help actors with costumes or quick changes but do not get in their feet, especially when they are getting into character.
Keep things in order, develop a routine and save time. Nothing could be more reassuring than a person backstage who seems to make everyone else’s job a bit easier. Usually people appreciate this and will want to work with you again.
Hang out with the cast and the producers. Keep in touch and don’t be ashamed to ask them to recommend you to other theatre people. Theatre is one of the jobs that need connections, so the sooner you make them, the better for your career.
Remember that in the beginning you’ll probably need to volunteer a lot, so don’t expect to make money. Although it is good for other people to know that your time is valuable and your services worthwhile, it takes time to move from ‘services’ to a friend to professional services. But as we mentioned before, patience is a virtue.
So, if you still think that this is what you want to do, go for it. Theatre needs you.
ASM=Assistant Stage Manager will probably be your first official post.
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