Measuring out my life... ~ theatre notes

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Measuring out my life...

To my distress and dudgeon, I did Matt's Which Book Are You? quiz and found out that I am J. Alfred Prufrock. I guess it could be worse, but I'm not sure how. Anyway, perhaps there is a truth there - I am short, I drink a lot of coffee, I'll never play Prince Hamlet and maybe I am measuring out my life in blogs. And it's only getting worse. In one of my lives I have actual fans, whose mail keeps piling up uncontrollably, and in a (probably futile) attempt to wrestle my selves into some kind of order, I've started a Books of Pellinor blog. Pretty, ain't it? Like, I needed something else to do...

Meanwhile, as promised, Ming has posted at length on Lee Lewis's Currency House paper on Cross Racial Casting. And over at Nicholas Pickard's place, the debate still rages. Lewis seems to have touched some very sensitive nerves. (Yes, I will - when I have a moment - buy the paper and read it for myself). Watch this space for details of an up-coming public forum with Lee Lewis in Melbourne-town.

Skipping over to George Hunka - the man is, according to the current issue of The Dramatist, one of 50 playwrights to watch in the US, but us blog denizens knew that already, eh? Anyway, check out his excellent meditation on Howard Barker's latest book, A Style and its Origins (written, it seems, by Barker's alter-ego, Eduardo Houth). More blowing of the budget, I fear.

And finally, just to prove that theatre types have their sweaty fingers pressed firmly on the popular pulse, see several bloggers on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Andrew Haydon at Postcards from the Gods liked its new grunge aesthetic and thought it the best yet (as did I); Richard Watts thought it was good, but not as good as the last one and Isaac over at Parabasis has got all the fanboys excited with a suggestion that someone write about the books as literature...

9 comments:

DL said...

fun post !!!
i enjoyed it mucho.

and... another blog ?!
gosh , i thought i was the one with 40 blogs. ;)

Anonymous said...

oh lord...I got Mrs Dalloway...time for a bex and a lie down.

Theatre Queen

Anonymous said...

I got "Cat's Cradle". Not my first choice but I'll take it, could have been a lot worse.

Nicholas Pickard said...

Alison, I was speaking with a colleague of mine last night about you.
You are just like Dali - one of those people who does everything! And everything amazingly well.

My jealous side is dying to ask... do you sleep??????

By the way - I'm The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman...

"Though you're interested in war, what you really want to know is what causes war. You're out to expose imperialism, militarism, and nationalism for what they really are."

Anonymous said...

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

This just goes to show that The Book Quiz does not lie.

"...Soon there will be an epic struggle between two forces in your life and you are very concerned about a betrayal that could turn the balance...When in doubt, put your trust in zoo animals."

Anonymous said...

Just listened to a rip-roaring 'Australia Talks' on the Haneef issue. Hats off to Barclay for juggling, on the one hand, 2 QCs debating the finer points of admissable evidence and the separation of powers, and on the other dudes like Barry from Maribyrnong who reckon Andrews has made the right call because "we're at war here (with terrorism, he meant) and these blokes are out to get us (the terrorists, he meant)". Luckily Paul has that kind of stern-but-loving-father (even of the ignorant child that revels in smashing things for no reason) thing down pat.

There is a point of relevance here - at the end of the program an exhausted Barclay previewed tomorrow (Friday)'s program which is titled 'Colourblind casting' and will focus on the question of racial representation and diversity in theatre and film. Thought people following the Lewis paper discussion might be interested. The show goes to air on Radio National 621, 6-7pm (4-5 in WA).

And if you miss it, you can always be a cyberadio supergeek and download it from http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/.

Ben.

Alison Croggon said...

I got behind here...! TQ, you'll have to have a cup of tea, they've banned Bex...and Nicholas, thanks, though the thought of being at all like Dali is rather alarming. I can assure you, though, that there are many things I am very bad at.

Troubador, I always put my trust in animals. (I'll show you my scars sometime).

And thanks for that note, Ben. That photo of Haneef in custody, his head down, in that orange suit, is one of the most depressing, purely awful images I've seen taken in this country, as bad as some of the photos from the detention centres. And yes, it's not as if these issues are not connected.

richardwatts said...

Good god, I'm The Catcher in the Rye!

George Hunka said...

I'm Loosely Based, by Storey Clayton. Never heard of it. (Though I may be loosely based, I admit.)

Thank you, Alison! And my own tag ... I never thought I'd see the day.