Drawer Boy withdrawal...boy!
Sat, 5 Oct 2002, 01:43 amcrgwllms9 posts in thread
Drawer Boy withdrawal...boy!
Sat, 5 Oct 2002, 01:43 amGiven the deluge of controversial opinion that followed some comments made in a review by Geoff Gibbs last month; I wonder what his latest actions will provoke?
The West Australian (Fri Oct 4) reports that he has withdrawn from Black Swan's production of The Drawer Boy only days before its scheduled opening.
Gibbs and director Andrew Ross had a major difference of opinion in interpreting his character. In the last week Ross suggested Gibbs swap characters with Max Gillies, who plays the other main character. Gibbs though, felt that was asking too much.
However, apparently Gillies is still going to swap roles and play the part vacated by Gibbs, while George Shevtsov will take over Max's role, and the opening night has been delayed a week.
I won't speculate as to whether Gibbs' leaving was initiated by him, by Ross, or a mutual decision...but it's certainly controversial.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
The West Australian (Fri Oct 4) reports that he has withdrawn from Black Swan's production of The Drawer Boy only days before its scheduled opening.
Gibbs and director Andrew Ross had a major difference of opinion in interpreting his character. In the last week Ross suggested Gibbs swap characters with Max Gillies, who plays the other main character. Gibbs though, felt that was asking too much.
However, apparently Gillies is still going to swap roles and play the part vacated by Gibbs, while George Shevtsov will take over Max's role, and the opening night has been delayed a week.
I won't speculate as to whether Gibbs' leaving was initiated by him, by Ross, or a mutual decision...but it's certainly controversial.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
Re: Drawn and Quartered
Sat, 12 Oct 2002, 01:44 amsorcha wrote:
>
> ...it seems to me that, if Max Gillies is capable of swapping roles in such a short period (ie with the later opening night), then surely Geoff Gibbs could/should have been able to do the same..? Both had presumably been rehearsing their original roles for the same length of time, ...
That may follow in a logical sense, but it's not necessarily going to work that way in reality. One actor may fit all the parts well, but another may not be really suited to play the other role, regardless of his capacity to learn it.
If Gibbs was contracted to play a particular role, and that was taken from him, it's perfectly within his right to decide not to accept a recasting...perhaps the "unable to learn a new role in time" line is a polite excuse, a plausible way to back out of a situation that just wasn't satisfactory.
I don't know what created the initial problems, but there doesn't seem to be enough evidence to conclusively blame Gibbs or Ross individually. Probably no one is without fault.
But what I have just heard tonight, from a reliable source, is that the final result is actually a very good play.
So it seems that the drastic decisions taken (recasting, delaying the opening) were enough to rectify the situation...at least artistically.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
>
> ...it seems to me that, if Max Gillies is capable of swapping roles in such a short period (ie with the later opening night), then surely Geoff Gibbs could/should have been able to do the same..? Both had presumably been rehearsing their original roles for the same length of time, ...
That may follow in a logical sense, but it's not necessarily going to work that way in reality. One actor may fit all the parts well, but another may not be really suited to play the other role, regardless of his capacity to learn it.
If Gibbs was contracted to play a particular role, and that was taken from him, it's perfectly within his right to decide not to accept a recasting...perhaps the "unable to learn a new role in time" line is a polite excuse, a plausible way to back out of a situation that just wasn't satisfactory.
I don't know what created the initial problems, but there doesn't seem to be enough evidence to conclusively blame Gibbs or Ross individually. Probably no one is without fault.
But what I have just heard tonight, from a reliable source, is that the final result is actually a very good play.
So it seems that the drastic decisions taken (recasting, delaying the opening) were enough to rectify the situation...at least artistically.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
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