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Not adding enough
Last week I went to the National to see a play apparently based on Antigone; this week the roots are meant to be in King Lear. Neither one, in my opinion, really deserves linkage to such heritage – two sisters or three children does not make it thus. But of the two, this one is…
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When is it ok to laugh during a play about paedophilic incest?
I remember reading Antigone so well; it was the first play that was on the curriculum when I started high school; it was the first time that I really explored the meaning of the word ‘dilemma.’ It was powerful, heart wrenching, I kept replaying the themes over and over in my head. The basic premise…
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What a headache
Of the three plays in the trilogy, this one is by far the weakest; and on all counts actually: plot, staging and acting. There is good physicality to both actresses. Especially Carly does the dialogues with herself exceptionally well. The speed with which she talks, however, coupled with poor annunciations, meant that I struggled to…
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Thank you for sticking to the script
I have not read ‘Grapes of Wrath.’ It is not on the list of school-mandated literature where I am from and reading ‘From Mice and Men’ put me off Steinbeck for life. I cried too hard, and the feeling of sadness haunted me for too long. I did not want to voluntarily subject myself to…
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Is this how a grown-up behaves?
I preferred “Delroy” to “Michael” on pretty much all counts other than props – Michael had more props and they were a more pronounced aspect of the performance, which I enjoyed. In “Delroy”, the dialogues between characters enacted by the same person were less jarring, the acting more powerful, and the story maybe a bit…
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What has died, exactly?
Apparently, ‘Death of England’ is a ‘critically acclaimed’ trilogy – that statement in of its own should have been a warning signal. “Scorching and fearless play which asks explosive and enduring questions about identity, race and class in Britain” I am told. But is asking difficult questions enough to make a play good? Not in…
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Who is meant to be the victim?
I want to like this play, I really do. It draws on the reality of what we have seen happen – the harassment female MPs have been subjected to, most recently Rosie Duffield forced to withdraw from hustings. It even appears to have some predicative powers, with the character of the police officer selling photographs…
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Why we love the King of misrule
With the new trend of ultra-long films, I will admit that I have been struggling to get through them in one go. Dead Reckoning at 164 minutes , left me dying of boredom some half way through, but I preserved as it was part of family movie night. I gave up on Napoleon 30 minutes…
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Very long day’s journey
Sometimes its hard to tell, whether you simply do not like the play, or whether it is the production that is at fault. In this case, I think it is a little bit of both, but maybe its one and the same. There is probably an element in me that feels embarrassed that I seem…
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The fight goes on
I had not come across this play before, even though apparently it is quite well known in the UK The plot reminded me of a Shakespearean comedy, where the author decided to substitute the happily ever after with a gore-fest. But because of the speed at which some themes evolved, or occurred rather, there was…
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