tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post1060087052623849476..comments2023-12-14T21:08:52.235+11:00Comments on SOYP: The People's Theatre Advisor : NEW THEATRE’S ‘THE PILLOWMAN’ dissected by meAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13465326595602560516noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-5039222285258486972013-04-06T10:30:54.977+11:002013-04-06T10:30:54.977+11:00Thank you but not worthy of such lovely words. Thi...Thank you but not worthy of such lovely words. This is one of my favourite plays in the world, so I was always going to be overly critical.<br /><br />And hope you are feeling better, especially now that the mercury decided to take a skydiving trip into rapid descent.ALWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-7479376405486370652013-04-05T08:36:46.257+11:002013-04-05T08:36:46.257+11:00To be shaaw.. to be shaaw..
I think you guys (Jan...To be shaaw.. to be shaaw..<br /><br />I think you guys (Jane, That guy, ALW)need to get a life... seriously!! <br /><br />I thought Luke's interpretation was shabby chic smart and reflected his love of 'Grand Designs' and Kevin McLeods articulate references to the construction process. I thought Oliver and Michael did the roles justice indeed.. my only confusion revolved around the goat walking through the set mid way through the second act which threw me somewhat?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-86921607863794678032013-04-02T16:03:06.915+11:002013-04-02T16:03:06.915+11:00ALW- such insightful comments may mean I endow thi...ALW- such insightful comments may mean I endow this blog to you when I am pushed down a flight of stairs by a passing hater. Spot on I think. Thank you for bringing an intelligence and substance in your comments to my original post. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13465326595602560516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-40468489224362456032013-04-02T15:59:11.904+11:002013-04-02T15:59:11.904+11:00Peter- thanks for your comment and well done on yo...Peter- thanks for your comment and well done on your work on stage. I have been inundated with emails and comments to remind me of some poor research on my part in regards to the accents (in trying to decipher the problems with rhythm in the first half). I am going to use the flu tablet as my get out of jail free card. I'm hoping had I been sharper in my cognitive abilities, I would have kept my level of stupidity to a minimum!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13465326595602560516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-54306655602599668652013-04-02T12:53:15.260+11:002013-04-02T12:53:15.260+11:00It's interesting that you note the presence of...It's interesting that you note the presence of "putting on an act" acting as that was my main issue with the production. This was what I attribute the pacing problems to.<br /><br />There were few moments where I believed Wenn as Katurian. And in the interrogation scenes, particularly the opening this directly affected the rhythm of the dialogue as his delivery did not ring true.<br />I will concede that there was a nice ownership of the tales in their retelling but little concept of their meaning, neither in general or to the writer himself. Wenn took some malicious delight in his words that was just innappropriate.<br />Either Wenn has not sufficiently done his homework to develop Katurian or he wasn't up to the task. It's a complicated role to tackle, but it is disappointing either way.<br /><br />(And it certainly got on my nerves when a freshly tortured Katurian seemed able to completely forget the pain he was in when he had something else to talk about.)<br /><br />I was sceptical about Michael Howlett and I still can't decide whether the vascillation between Michal's tone was an attribute to the question of Michal's awareness of his acts or an occasional slip in character.<br />Again I found the above faults the reason the relationship seemed lacking. Even though the age difference between Katurian and Michal was only a year I agree it holds a significance that the audience need to feel.<br /><br />Lastly I'm with you on the abusive parents in swimming costumes. <br /><br />I do think there are merits to this production and the text itself is wonderful. There's two weeks left and I would be encouraging a look-see.ALWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-85267817612179684952013-03-30T00:22:27.209+11:002013-03-30T00:22:27.209+11:00Thanks heaps for your review, Jane. I do hope that...Thanks heaps for your review, Jane. I do hope that nasty bug has now released you from its grip!<br /><br />A couple of minor points. <br />The decision NOT to use Irish accents had little to do with the actors' capabilities, but was, as That Guy said, more based on an acknowledgement that the play was deliberately non-specific as regards location. I, personally, will leap at any excuse to use an accent, and the previous play in which I was involved at the New (The Weir, by Conor McPherson) was, in fact, wall-to-wall Irish!<br />The original London West End production was, I believe, done with English accents, and the Broadway version was unapologetically American, so we pretty much went with the flow on that front.<br />Interestingly, McDonagh himself was born in London, to Irish parents who then moved back to Galway, leaving him and his brother to grow up in England. He did visit and even stay for a while in Ireland later on, and his early plays were located on (and just off) the Emerald Isle, but The Pillowman was regarded as his first NON-Irish script.<br /><br />Thanks again. I do enjoy reading all your 'shit' and look forward to doing so long into the future.<br /><br />Bestest<br />Peter McAllumKiwikroozerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17670718477278674947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-5902149172771644582013-03-29T14:38:26.197+11:002013-03-29T14:38:26.197+11:00Good point TG- I remember at the Abbey Theatre the...Good point TG- I remember at the Abbey Theatre the discussion I had with management of how difficult they find getting successful Irish playwrights to write in the vernacular and keep plays in the national spirit or to premier them in Ireland at all. <br /><br />You are most likely right about the accents and then I can only think the director Rogers has struggled to find the rhythm to dance with the language of the play. <br /><br />It is decidedly more successful in the second half.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13465326595602560516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124858870558544212.post-49845195171168365672013-03-29T06:05:05.311+11:002013-03-29T06:05:05.311+11:00One observation (having not seen the production) -...One observation (having not seen the production) - you indicate Irish Accents. From my reading of "The Pillowman", it's the one McDonagh play that is deliberately not set anywhere at all in particular (although the character names like Katurian, Tupolski and Michal, together with the plot element of state-control over a writer, suggest Eastern Europe). And while McDonagh is an Irish writer and is best known for his five published plays that are set there, he has moved outside there since (both with the Pillowman and with the American-set "Behanding in Spokane"). <br /><br />I think "The Pillowman" is a fiendishly difficult script to get right for any group, with a lot of temptations and traps to fall into, and it seems like The New has fallen into a few of them with wobbly casting and some lack of light-and-shade in the interrogation scenes.That Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04142533016588637476noreply@blogger.com