Othello v Titus
Sun, 6 Aug 2000, 11:22 amGrant Malcolm13 posts in thread
Othello v Titus
Sun, 6 Aug 2000, 11:22 amHaving spent the previous night at Bell's Dream I was looking forward to an evening of contrast with Shakespearience's Othello v Titus.
I'll confess it wasn't entirely without some trepidation. While I shared much of Robert Cook's enthusiasm for Gibson Nolte's performance in the recent Macbeth, I'd wished someone had taken a nail gun to his somewhat undisciplined interpretation of Macduff and stapled his feet to the floor!
However, I had seen Gibson's Winters' Tale at Kalamunda last year and I was confident that, as a director, he had a firm grasp of the bard and I was looking forward to seeing how he and his fellow director Claire Hooper tackled these condensed versions.
It's difficult not to draw comparisons between the original sources and Kaiser's shorter versions. Shakespeare's Othello and Titus Andronicus they are not. That said, the stripped down texts stand perfectly well in their own right and succeeded admirably in performance.
The contrast with Bell Shakespeare was at once apparent in the almost complete lack of setting and the very simple costuming - not to mention the size of the venue. For all this, the company filled the space with inventive performances that invited the audience to share their journey.
Each play is performed by a cast of three and thankfully, with skillful editing, each actor plays at most only three parts. Shifts in characterisation together with single items of costume or rearrangments of hair neatly distinguished one role from another.
The plays move quickly. The performances are dynamic and the energy never flagged. Titus is as obscenely funny as Othello is tension packed. The invention and passion held the small Blue Room crowd firmly in its thrall.
Some more work on vocal technique might have assisted to carry the otherwise excellent performances of Booth and Keen, but it was a delight to see the development of Toby Malone as a performer. If occasionally physically understated his almost melodramatic vocal range was admirably suited to the roles. Rebecca Pithers performance was the highlight for me with extraordinary assurance, sensitivity and vocal clarity.
And I have to ask... Rebecca is that you? I thought you looked very familiar, but I didn't read the programme until i went for coffee after the show. Can it be that i really directed you when you were ten years old???
Cheers
Grant
I'll confess it wasn't entirely without some trepidation. While I shared much of Robert Cook's enthusiasm for Gibson Nolte's performance in the recent Macbeth, I'd wished someone had taken a nail gun to his somewhat undisciplined interpretation of Macduff and stapled his feet to the floor!
However, I had seen Gibson's Winters' Tale at Kalamunda last year and I was confident that, as a director, he had a firm grasp of the bard and I was looking forward to seeing how he and his fellow director Claire Hooper tackled these condensed versions.
It's difficult not to draw comparisons between the original sources and Kaiser's shorter versions. Shakespeare's Othello and Titus Andronicus they are not. That said, the stripped down texts stand perfectly well in their own right and succeeded admirably in performance.
The contrast with Bell Shakespeare was at once apparent in the almost complete lack of setting and the very simple costuming - not to mention the size of the venue. For all this, the company filled the space with inventive performances that invited the audience to share their journey.
Each play is performed by a cast of three and thankfully, with skillful editing, each actor plays at most only three parts. Shifts in characterisation together with single items of costume or rearrangments of hair neatly distinguished one role from another.
The plays move quickly. The performances are dynamic and the energy never flagged. Titus is as obscenely funny as Othello is tension packed. The invention and passion held the small Blue Room crowd firmly in its thrall.
Some more work on vocal technique might have assisted to carry the otherwise excellent performances of Booth and Keen, but it was a delight to see the development of Toby Malone as a performer. If occasionally physically understated his almost melodramatic vocal range was admirably suited to the roles. Rebecca Pithers performance was the highlight for me with extraordinary assurance, sensitivity and vocal clarity.
And I have to ask... Rebecca is that you? I thought you looked very familiar, but I didn't read the programme until i went for coffee after the show. Can it be that i really directed you when you were ten years old???
Cheers
Grant
RE: Vale - Secret Squirrel
Sat, 12 Aug 2000, 07:19 pmHi Jarrod
While i didn't personally feel all of SS's contributions were as unremittingly malicious as you suggest, i think you have provided a very neat summary of the course of discussion and the various views expressed on the topic.
I do think it's worth taking a moment to address the question of the effect of negative reviews on this site. Broken Limb's production of Macbeth received something of a "bagging" at the hands of Robert Cook in The West - a substantially larger readership than attending this website. The night I attended their was a very reasonable house and I gather the season generally did very well.
If a review, by a paid theatre critic selected for publication in our daily newspaper would appear not to have dented ticket sales, you've got to seriously question whether anyone would take any notice of the views of someone posting anonymously on this website.
Let's give each other at least a little credit. We're all capable of drawing our own conclusions about whether or not someone's point of view is worthwhile. Posting anonymously and in a dismissive manner will ring alarm bells with anyone seriously looking for an unbiased and balanced critique. Anyone prepared for a moment to place credence in the views of an anonymous poster deserves to be taken for a ride - and that includes people who take offence at such anonymous reviews.
Quite apart from this, this site has never been intended as a soapbox for the Secret Squirrel's of the world. It will only become one if people meekly stand by and allow their work to be trashed or smugly sniff disdainfully at the poor quality of the discussion and refuse to contribute.
If people don't like the quality of the contributions from some of the anonymous posters, then they should really think about putting hand to keyboard and doing something to lift the tone around here. Great to to see Jarrod is leading the way in this respect!
Cheers
Grant
While i didn't personally feel all of SS's contributions were as unremittingly malicious as you suggest, i think you have provided a very neat summary of the course of discussion and the various views expressed on the topic.
I do think it's worth taking a moment to address the question of the effect of negative reviews on this site. Broken Limb's production of Macbeth received something of a "bagging" at the hands of Robert Cook in The West - a substantially larger readership than attending this website. The night I attended their was a very reasonable house and I gather the season generally did very well.
If a review, by a paid theatre critic selected for publication in our daily newspaper would appear not to have dented ticket sales, you've got to seriously question whether anyone would take any notice of the views of someone posting anonymously on this website.
Let's give each other at least a little credit. We're all capable of drawing our own conclusions about whether or not someone's point of view is worthwhile. Posting anonymously and in a dismissive manner will ring alarm bells with anyone seriously looking for an unbiased and balanced critique. Anyone prepared for a moment to place credence in the views of an anonymous poster deserves to be taken for a ride - and that includes people who take offence at such anonymous reviews.
Quite apart from this, this site has never been intended as a soapbox for the Secret Squirrel's of the world. It will only become one if people meekly stand by and allow their work to be trashed or smugly sniff disdainfully at the poor quality of the discussion and refuse to contribute.
If people don't like the quality of the contributions from some of the anonymous posters, then they should really think about putting hand to keyboard and doing something to lift the tone around here. Great to to see Jarrod is leading the way in this respect!
Cheers
Grant
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