THE MEN
Sun, 24 Aug 2003, 10:16 pmWalter Plinge5 posts in thread
THE MEN
Sun, 24 Aug 2003, 10:16 pmI saw this show at the SunMoon Function Room Scarborough last Friday night. I was deeply moved.
This is a somewhat static play - hardly any dialogue either - more a series of interconnected monologues really. Not vagina monologues though.
Chris Dickins' (any relation to Barry?) clever and colourful script came vividly to life under the direction of the multi-talented Grant Malcolm and through the artistry of four ordinary Aussie blokes. For this particular venue, the light and sound was very adequate and the costumes, while putting one in mind of the Wiggles gone pastel, were fabulous.
I defy any of you who call youselves baby-boomers to see this play and NOT identify with at least half a dozen of the images portrayed in it. As to relevance to our everyday lives, it is a 'must-see' for any man between the ages of 35 and 65, anyone who loves or hates such a man or anyone who likes plays where you can laugh and cry, sometimes both at once.
I understand this MensWork/Drinking Lizard production can be seen at various venues around town beginning Sunday 31 August as part of Men's Health Week. No doubt it will be heavily plugged elsewhere on this site. Well done, Grant, stage and house hands and MEN.
Thou dissembling common-kissing dewberry!
This is a somewhat static play - hardly any dialogue either - more a series of interconnected monologues really. Not vagina monologues though.
Chris Dickins' (any relation to Barry?) clever and colourful script came vividly to life under the direction of the multi-talented Grant Malcolm and through the artistry of four ordinary Aussie blokes. For this particular venue, the light and sound was very adequate and the costumes, while putting one in mind of the Wiggles gone pastel, were fabulous.
I defy any of you who call youselves baby-boomers to see this play and NOT identify with at least half a dozen of the images portrayed in it. As to relevance to our everyday lives, it is a 'must-see' for any man between the ages of 35 and 65, anyone who loves or hates such a man or anyone who likes plays where you can laugh and cry, sometimes both at once.
I understand this MensWork/Drinking Lizard production can be seen at various venues around town beginning Sunday 31 August as part of Men's Health Week. No doubt it will be heavily plugged elsewhere on this site. Well done, Grant, stage and house hands and MEN.
Thou dissembling common-kissing dewberry!
Re: THE MEN
Fri, 5 Sept 2003, 09:45 amWalter Plinge
"The Men" was totally engaging. I'd like to have pasted excerpts alongside "Fight Club"; stories of men's emotional realities. Exploration of men's emotion in the context of incredible pressure on the current generation of men in their fifties (my father's generation), who are unflinchingly cut from the pay roll and expected to get over their lifetime of identification through work.
What happens to the next generation of our men? - I found myself asking. As gender roles are increasingly blurred and manhood is being discussed more and more, can we expect the next generation of men to be spared of the stigma attached to retirement age redundancies? I suggest that things have changed, though perhaps other issues arise in the process. We must keep our hearts open to men's issues, is what "The Men" say. We must pay tribute to the generation of men in their fifties who are presently bearing the weight of a society that only yesterday gave little consideration to men's issues.
"The Men" is playfully humanised by reminiscences from the bar stool; scar show-and-tells, anecdotal retellings of thrill seeking; and talk of the scrotum dropping - there's always room for a laugh. We relate to the men intimately as they reflect upon self and one's past, relationships with others, body change, identification through work, the search for meaning and purpose at a stage in the life-cycle that is punctuated by "efficiency"-rationale. The Menswork Project Inc. & Drinking Lizard interpretation emerges at a time when Perth's theatre goers are presented with a number of confronting performances. I am inspired to get out there and experience the emotion. Great stuff!
What happens to the next generation of our men? - I found myself asking. As gender roles are increasingly blurred and manhood is being discussed more and more, can we expect the next generation of men to be spared of the stigma attached to retirement age redundancies? I suggest that things have changed, though perhaps other issues arise in the process. We must keep our hearts open to men's issues, is what "The Men" say. We must pay tribute to the generation of men in their fifties who are presently bearing the weight of a society that only yesterday gave little consideration to men's issues.
"The Men" is playfully humanised by reminiscences from the bar stool; scar show-and-tells, anecdotal retellings of thrill seeking; and talk of the scrotum dropping - there's always room for a laugh. We relate to the men intimately as they reflect upon self and one's past, relationships with others, body change, identification through work, the search for meaning and purpose at a stage in the life-cycle that is punctuated by "efficiency"-rationale. The Menswork Project Inc. & Drinking Lizard interpretation emerges at a time when Perth's theatre goers are presented with a number of confronting performances. I am inspired to get out there and experience the emotion. Great stuff!