Travesties at Roleystone
Tue, 31 July 2001, 03:13 pmWalter Plinge4 posts in thread
Travesties at Roleystone
Tue, 31 July 2001, 03:13 pmSaw this production last week. Not being a Stoppard fan I was not that enthusiastic about going, but I found it quite enjoyable. Paul Treasure's interpretation was mostly understandable, the set was excellent (gave a whole new meaning to a flagstone floor), and Pear was brilliant.
There was, however, one thing which irritated me beyond measure. I could not understand one word uttered by the character playing James Joyce. Her acting and body language were quite good, but that is no good if the audience misses the lines written by the author. Because it is a long play, I got the impression that the cast were trying to speed up the lines, but shooting them like a machine gun at the audience is not the answer, especially if a broad accent is employed.
There are some very funny lines to keep the audience amused, I especially liked the idea of English literature being in the foreign lanuage section of a Zurich Library.
All in all a pleasant evening, apart from my one gripe
cheers
Stu
There was, however, one thing which irritated me beyond measure. I could not understand one word uttered by the character playing James Joyce. Her acting and body language were quite good, but that is no good if the audience misses the lines written by the author. Because it is a long play, I got the impression that the cast were trying to speed up the lines, but shooting them like a machine gun at the audience is not the answer, especially if a broad accent is employed.
There are some very funny lines to keep the audience amused, I especially liked the idea of English literature being in the foreign lanuage section of a Zurich Library.
All in all a pleasant evening, apart from my one gripe
cheers
Stu
RE: Travesties at Roleystone
Thu, 2 Aug 2001, 08:29 amI cannot beleive that the show I went and saw last night has sparked all this debate about walking out at interval. I can't beleive so many people have done so. The only thing I can think of is that Travesties is an unusal and very wordy play and that the traditional audience base at Roleystone is fairly conservative. I read all the "They just didn't understand it" posits from the cast and crew and must admit to a raised eyebrow. "Oh yeah" I thought "or it could just be.....".
To tell you the truth I went to Travesties because I have friends amoung the cast. I really expected it to be awful, and the tales of post 11pm finishes didn't help either. I was pleasently surprised. Yes it is long, but it doesn't feel like it. Yes it is wordy, but the actors, though some less accomplished than others are likable and, despite everything, really seem to enjoy and beleive in what they are doing. And it's very funny.
The setting is visually arresting but I would like to have seen it a little less rigid and a little more scewed in theme, in keeping with the quasi-Dadaist themes of chance and chaos. The physical theatre worked well and the costumes were well done.
I don't usually single actors out unless it is for praise but since it's already been said on these boards; you can't understand the woman who plays James Joyce. This is very very annoying and severely detracted from my enjoyment of the play. The most imporant aspect of Stoppard is to process the dialouge, if you can't do that, the play is lost on you. If the accent is a problem, lose it; the words are more important. A very funny question and answer scene was almost completely lost in garble and mumbling.
But other than that gripe (and the small matter of Roleystone Theatre being a FRIDGE, I swear I felt like I was in the meat locker scene in Rocky. The place isn't warm enough to sustain human life. BRING A BLANKET!!!) I enjoyed the show. The cast and crew gave a very hard text a very good go under extremely trying circumstances.
To tell you the truth I went to Travesties because I have friends amoung the cast. I really expected it to be awful, and the tales of post 11pm finishes didn't help either. I was pleasently surprised. Yes it is long, but it doesn't feel like it. Yes it is wordy, but the actors, though some less accomplished than others are likable and, despite everything, really seem to enjoy and beleive in what they are doing. And it's very funny.
The setting is visually arresting but I would like to have seen it a little less rigid and a little more scewed in theme, in keeping with the quasi-Dadaist themes of chance and chaos. The physical theatre worked well and the costumes were well done.
I don't usually single actors out unless it is for praise but since it's already been said on these boards; you can't understand the woman who plays James Joyce. This is very very annoying and severely detracted from my enjoyment of the play. The most imporant aspect of Stoppard is to process the dialouge, if you can't do that, the play is lost on you. If the accent is a problem, lose it; the words are more important. A very funny question and answer scene was almost completely lost in garble and mumbling.
But other than that gripe (and the small matter of Roleystone Theatre being a FRIDGE, I swear I felt like I was in the meat locker scene in Rocky. The place isn't warm enough to sustain human life. BRING A BLANKET!!!) I enjoyed the show. The cast and crew gave a very hard text a very good go under extremely trying circumstances.