At the Barbican till November 1st.
When anything you can say about a play pales in comparison to the actual experience of seeing it, you know you've lived through something special.
So there is nothing really to say except, "go and see it", and try to savour the memory of it for as long as possible after.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Friday, 10 October 2008
Review: "First Class" at The Blue Elephant
At the Blue Elephant Theatre, till 25/10
Amy Nostbakken and Nir Paldi are fascinated by the shapes, movements and places that make up the world and by the dramatic potential of seemingly anodyne objects (a corkscrew, brown paper packages, etc.); they are also both accomplished physical performers and Nostbakken has a wonderful singing voice, both technically proficient and rich in character.
With this as a starting point, they have devised a show about shy introvert Michael (Paldi) who, in the course of a trip to the post office, rediscovers his joie de vivre with the help of zany postal worker Beatrice (Nostbakken). Before you can say "I love Paris in the spring time", Bea is leading both Michael and the audience on a fantastical adventure through the city of lights, from the dizzying heights of the Eiffel Tower, down to the smoky and sultry depths of the Parisian jazz cafés, and passing over a Pont des Arts where stories and history have become indistinguishable.
Nostbakken veers between joyous apoplexy, coy flirtatiousness and childish playfulness whilst Paldi's movements become freer and more graceful as he opens up to the world around him. Both performers are clearly most happy and at ease when indulging in flights of fancy involving a physicalisation of the fantasy world they are creating. In these moments, they are a joy to behold, moving seemlessly from a speedboat, to an extended dance sequence to the Paris metro and back to the cold reality of an empty post office.
Where the show could do with polishing is at the beginning, where the pace seems to be off (too slow and stunted) and more liberties could be taken with the lines. Too often, the words do not capture the same playfulness as the performances and though they do not jar, they somethimes border on cliché when they should be aspiring to poetry. It is as though the performers are less interested in playing games with language than they are with playing physical games; the two should go hand in hand.
But this is already a show full of invention and creativity, and there is no doubt that it will develop further throughout the performance period.
Amy Nostbakken and Nir Paldi are fascinated by the shapes, movements and places that make up the world and by the dramatic potential of seemingly anodyne objects (a corkscrew, brown paper packages, etc.); they are also both accomplished physical performers and Nostbakken has a wonderful singing voice, both technically proficient and rich in character.
With this as a starting point, they have devised a show about shy introvert Michael (Paldi) who, in the course of a trip to the post office, rediscovers his joie de vivre with the help of zany postal worker Beatrice (Nostbakken). Before you can say "I love Paris in the spring time", Bea is leading both Michael and the audience on a fantastical adventure through the city of lights, from the dizzying heights of the Eiffel Tower, down to the smoky and sultry depths of the Parisian jazz cafés, and passing over a Pont des Arts where stories and history have become indistinguishable.
Nostbakken veers between joyous apoplexy, coy flirtatiousness and childish playfulness whilst Paldi's movements become freer and more graceful as he opens up to the world around him. Both performers are clearly most happy and at ease when indulging in flights of fancy involving a physicalisation of the fantasy world they are creating. In these moments, they are a joy to behold, moving seemlessly from a speedboat, to an extended dance sequence to the Paris metro and back to the cold reality of an empty post office.
Where the show could do with polishing is at the beginning, where the pace seems to be off (too slow and stunted) and more liberties could be taken with the lines. Too often, the words do not capture the same playfulness as the performances and though they do not jar, they somethimes border on cliché when they should be aspiring to poetry. It is as though the performers are less interested in playing games with language than they are with playing physical games; the two should go hand in hand.
But this is already a show full of invention and creativity, and there is no doubt that it will develop further throughout the performance period.
Monday, 6 October 2008
How long is a piece of string?
Last Tuesday, in his Guardian blog, Matt Wolf asked whether actors make better directors.
Do footballers make better managers? Do paid journalists make better bloggers? How long is a piece of string?
Taking the advice of Stewart Lee, I always keep a piece of string of a known length upon my person to deal with such questions. My piece of string is exactly fifteen centimetres long. *
Tonight I am going to see Creditors, directed by Alan Rickman. Tomorrow, I will let you know whether Alan Rickman makes a good director.
* Although Lee is making a slightly different point, it turns out that string comes in handy when dealing with all sorts of fatuous questions.
Do footballers make better managers? Do paid journalists make better bloggers? How long is a piece of string?
Taking the advice of Stewart Lee, I always keep a piece of string of a known length upon my person to deal with such questions. My piece of string is exactly fifteen centimetres long. *
Tonight I am going to see Creditors, directed by Alan Rickman. Tomorrow, I will let you know whether Alan Rickman makes a good director.
* Although Lee is making a slightly different point, it turns out that string comes in handy when dealing with all sorts of fatuous questions.
Friday, 3 October 2008
Review: "Connected" and "The other day" at The White Bear Theatre
Till 5th October, 2008 at The White Bear
A man and a woman drink, eat cheese and reminisce in a shabby 1970's style living room of a small house somewhere outside London. Another man and another woman also drink, eat cheese and reminisce in the same room, without ever interacting with the first pair. As they argue and booze their way through the evening, the characters reveal ever more of themselves and their history; old emotional and psychological scars are left bleeding afresh and it is unclear whether the night has been cathartic or simply a re-living of past traumas.
Developed separately before being brought together as a single piece by Abandon Theatre, "Connected" and "The Other Day" are played out simultaneously, in the same space. The couple from "Connected" pause to give the couple from "The Other Day" stage time, and vice versa, each pair becoming neutral during the other's duologue. In between hinting that the two pieces might be related to one another and accepting that ultimately, there does not have to be any kind of connection between them (at least not in terms of narrative), the production provokes a disturbing sense of bewilderment and loss. Whilst the experiment of playing both scenes simultaneously does not throw any light on either piece per se, the unsettling effect of combining them in such a manner provides a relevant context for the bleak subject-matter.
Maheen Mohamedally's direction is deft enough for the two storylines to never step on one another's toes and the acting is mostly confident with Deon Newbronner, in particular, giving a magnetic and moving performance in "Connected". As for Amy Rushton's set, it is as the stories unfold that it becomes apparent how appropriate it really is; a space that initially appears to be merely tattered and threadbare becomes suggestive of the sordid events which took place there as the past is unravelled by the four protagonists.
Even though "The Other Day" is weaker in terms of perfomances than "Connected", meaning that the two don't sit as happily together as they might, and the entire production is, at times, a little meandering, the fascination which arises from the unusual format is enough to keep the audience engaged. Add to this the sensitive and compelling treatment of difficult subject-matter and you have a production as captivating as it is devastating.
A man and a woman drink, eat cheese and reminisce in a shabby 1970's style living room of a small house somewhere outside London. Another man and another woman also drink, eat cheese and reminisce in the same room, without ever interacting with the first pair. As they argue and booze their way through the evening, the characters reveal ever more of themselves and their history; old emotional and psychological scars are left bleeding afresh and it is unclear whether the night has been cathartic or simply a re-living of past traumas.
Developed separately before being brought together as a single piece by Abandon Theatre, "Connected" and "The Other Day" are played out simultaneously, in the same space. The couple from "Connected" pause to give the couple from "The Other Day" stage time, and vice versa, each pair becoming neutral during the other's duologue. In between hinting that the two pieces might be related to one another and accepting that ultimately, there does not have to be any kind of connection between them (at least not in terms of narrative), the production provokes a disturbing sense of bewilderment and loss. Whilst the experiment of playing both scenes simultaneously does not throw any light on either piece per se, the unsettling effect of combining them in such a manner provides a relevant context for the bleak subject-matter.
Maheen Mohamedally's direction is deft enough for the two storylines to never step on one another's toes and the acting is mostly confident with Deon Newbronner, in particular, giving a magnetic and moving performance in "Connected". As for Amy Rushton's set, it is as the stories unfold that it becomes apparent how appropriate it really is; a space that initially appears to be merely tattered and threadbare becomes suggestive of the sordid events which took place there as the past is unravelled by the four protagonists.
Even though "The Other Day" is weaker in terms of perfomances than "Connected", meaning that the two don't sit as happily together as they might, and the entire production is, at times, a little meandering, the fascination which arises from the unusual format is enough to keep the audience engaged. Add to this the sensitive and compelling treatment of difficult subject-matter and you have a production as captivating as it is devastating.
October shows
Some shows I'll be seeing in October (there will be more to come):
Mon 06/10: Creditors, Donmar Warehouse, 7.30 pm. There might be some £12 tickets left if you're lucky, but I doubt it... Wasn't able to see it this week (I'm not just seeing it twice) (Ticket booked already)
Wed 8/10: First Class, Blue Elephant Theatre, 8pm, £7 (it's the second preview night). (Ticket booked already)
Fri 10/10: A Disappearing Number, The Barbican, 7.45 pm, some £12 tickets left when I last checked - they don't really seem to do concessions. (Ticket booked already)There may not be any cheap tickets for this one, but it'll be worth paying a bit more for it. It'll be my first Complicité show. Excited.
Tue 14/10: The Brothers Size, The Young Vic, 7:45 P.M, £10 concs (under 26's) - I have a spare ticket for this one. First person to claim it on the wall can have it for the princely sum of £10. (Tickets booked already)
Wed 29/10: Ivanov, Wyndham's Theatre, 7.30 pm, you'd be lucky to get tickets, let alone cheap ones. (Ticket booked already)
Thur 30/10: Master & Margarita, The Space (269 Westferry Road), 8.00pm, £6 concs., £10 full price. (Ticket booked already)
And you can get discounted halloween party tickets. I'm there.
Mon 06/10: Creditors, Donmar Warehouse, 7.30 pm. There might be some £12 tickets left if you're lucky, but I doubt it... Wasn't able to see it this week (I'm not just seeing it twice) (Ticket booked already)
Wed 8/10: First Class, Blue Elephant Theatre, 8pm, £7 (it's the second preview night). (Ticket booked already)
Fri 10/10: A Disappearing Number, The Barbican, 7.45 pm, some £12 tickets left when I last checked - they don't really seem to do concessions. (Ticket booked already)There may not be any cheap tickets for this one, but it'll be worth paying a bit more for it. It'll be my first Complicité show. Excited.
Tue 14/10: The Brothers Size, The Young Vic, 7:45 P.M, £10 concs (under 26's) - I have a spare ticket for this one. First person to claim it on the wall can have it for the princely sum of £10. (Tickets booked already)
Wed 29/10: Ivanov, Wyndham's Theatre, 7.30 pm, you'd be lucky to get tickets, let alone cheap ones. (Ticket booked already)
Thur 30/10: Master & Margarita, The Space (269 Westferry Road), 8.00pm, £6 concs., £10 full price. (Ticket booked already)
And you can get discounted halloween party tickets. I'm there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)