Sixteen Words for Water

"Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (October 30, 1885 – November 1, 1972) was an American expatriate poet, critic and intellectual who was a major figure of the Modernist movement in the first half of the 20th century. He is generally considered the poet most responsible for defining and promoting a modernist aesthetic in poetry. He disapproved of American involvement in [WWII] and tried to use his scant political contacts in Washington D.C. to prevent it. When Pound spoke on Italian radio, he gave a series of talks on political and cultural matters, art and patronage and economic theories. Pound believed that economics was the core issue for the cause of World War II. Specifically, his talks were largely about usury and the notion that representative democracy has been usurped by bankers' infiltration of governments through the existence of central banks, which made governments pay interest to private banks for the use of their own money. He maintained that the central bank's ability to create money out of thin air allowed banking interests to buy up American and British media outlets to sway opinion in favour of the war and the banks. Pound believed that economic freedom was a prerequisite for a free country. Inevitably, he touched on various sensitive political matters in his denunciations of the war. In addition, various of his comments were considered anti-semitic. Pound was indicted for treason by the United States government in 1943. On May 3, 1945, as Mussolini's puppet regime tumbled, Pound was arrested by partisans. At his request, he was then brought to the U.S. He was found incompetent to face trial by a special federal jury and sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he remained for 12 years from 1946 to 1958." Last night, myself and a little group of theatre lovers went to see "Sixteen Words for Water" at the Garrick Theatre in Guildford, WA, directed by Jeff Watkins, based around Ezra Pound's last few weeks/ days in incarceration. I admit, I find generally plays with small casts (such as this one having only three characters) generally hard to keep my attention. Chuck in the fact that one of the characters would be throwing in verses of poetry (which is not my favourite literacy genre) - well, I was apprehensive. However, the cast worked well together because the characters clashed so violently. The first half of the production was between Ezra (Rory - forgive me, I do not have a program still with me) and Woman (Lisa Skrypichayko) which you could almost feel the disagreement of morals and values between the two before even a word had been spoken. The second half was a little bit lighter with the arrival of Betsy (Kim)... and of course her "friend", Margaret. The interaction between Ezra and this young woman was so fun to watch. It was Betsy (and Margaret) who got the audience to laugh the loudest, giving some light to a otherwise very serious play. All the cast members did a wonderful job, as did the crew. The first thing that hit the audience when they walked in was the set which was open to the everyone coming in. What a fantastic set to run a muck in! And the cast used it well. It was like the set had a character in itself - an extension of Ezra Pound. All in all, a good show if you want to see something more than just a bit of entertainment. Don't come expecting to see a crazy man, brightly coloured, jumping about citing verse like Jeffrey Rush in Quills. Rory's Ezra Pound is quite different. A sane man who has been coped up for too long against his desires. So how do I know it was a good show? People were talking about what was about afterwards, and were continually thinking about it within themselves once they had left the theatre. Well done to all who were involved.