tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post2955459207983573864..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: Review: Holding The ManAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-26793417479798367832008-03-29T15:14:00.000+11:002008-03-29T15:14:00.000+11:00I saw the production last night. I admired it enor...I saw the production last night. I admired it enormously. I haven’t read the book, or lost anyone close, so I came to it relatively ‘fresh’ - which seems important to point out in the context of this discussion. I thought it was a shrewd and well-judged mix of the comic and the tragic, if I can put it that simply, and certainly left me quite deeply affected and contemplative. I was grateful that MelbLitChickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08277172373282274395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-3680483343750055942008-03-29T12:11:00.000+11:002008-03-29T12:11:00.000+11:00I saw a matinee production of HTM this week (Wed 2...I saw a matinee production of HTM this week (Wed 26/4) - expecting to be bowled over having heard about its reception in Sydney, and also having been captivated by the book (admittedly 10+ years ago). My response to the play was similar to Alison's, though mixed with disappointment that the book had not been well served by this production. I've re-read the book in the past few days and see it Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-44542612294045543842008-03-28T13:56:00.000+11:002008-03-28T13:56:00.000+11:00Isn't the answer to this quandry more likely to be...Isn't the answer to this quandry more likely to be found in the audience member than the play?<BR/><BR/>The events in the play resonated strongly with me as I am of the same era as the main characters, went to an all boys school, went to drama school, lived through the late 80s/early 90s aids devastation (which seems many lifetimes ago now...and in a way, is) so I guess I was predisposed to be par3182https://www.blogger.com/profile/03647653154201086767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-74445427093897062742008-03-27T17:31:00.000+11:002008-03-27T17:31:00.000+11:00I went to opening night too and had an outstanding...I went to opening night too and had an outstanding experience. Don’t know the book, but really loved the production, and was challenged by it. I guess you expect opening night crowds to be among the more constrained, but the audience gave it 4 or 5 big curtain calls and a standing ovation from I guess two-thirds or three-quarters of the theatre (hard to tell). I didn’t stand, although I clapped Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-45645869487243270262008-03-27T16:36:00.000+11:002008-03-27T16:36:00.000+11:00Excellent discussion here. I thoroughly enjoyed op...Excellent discussion here. I thoroughly enjoyed opening night, but also walked out straight into a stern dissertation by an aquaintance of the play's shortcomings at the bar. He was an actor talking to a producer who agreed so I have to defer to them somewhat, being a mug punter myself.<BR/><BR/>Frankly though, having seen quite a bit of the MTC program over the last two years I was somewhat Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-29352876059303875712008-03-27T13:09:00.000+11:002008-03-27T13:09:00.000+11:00For what it's worth, I did have a good bawl at the...For what it's worth, I did have a good bawl at the end of this play. I'll admit, I am a Sydneysider and quite predisposed to a good cry (after having lost the need to shy away from showing the world my tears). Nevertheless, I don't think the presence or absence of tears is any guide by which to judge a piece. What I do find interesting is the issue of sentimentality. It is true that the style of Constancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01757024594086004093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-82727297092803471972008-03-27T11:28:00.000+11:002008-03-27T11:28:00.000+11:00Hi folks,I saw the show twice in sydney and also f...Hi folks,<BR/><BR/>I saw the show twice in sydney and also felt unmoved by it. Although I did enjoy some of the theatrical aspects of its staging, especially the use of puppets and the breathing sounds. I also liked some of its comedy.<BR/><BR/>I wondered whether the emotional distance I felt from the characters' very painful situation was to do with the way the two lead guys were portrayed. Christine Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11735202040750017909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-65393054076290406362008-03-27T11:05:00.000+11:002008-03-27T11:05:00.000+11:00Great discussion here. I had a mixed response to t...Great discussion here. <BR/><BR/>I had a mixed response to the play too. My partner and I went last week, we enjoyed it for the most part, a few tears here and there. I found the core of the story (tim & john) quite wonderful, believable and engrossing. Couldn't fault that. Also, many of the characterisations played by the other actors were inventive and well-realised. The thing I (and my partnerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-76426294668616061212008-03-27T10:11:00.000+11:002008-03-27T10:11:00.000+11:00Well, it's prompting a fascinating discussion, and...Well, it's prompting a fascinating discussion, and that is certainly valuable. Thanks all for your thoughts -<BR/><BR/>That's an interesting point about rawness, Julian. (And makes me think of what Randall Jarrell said of Christina Stead's novel, <I>The Man Who Loved Children</I> - "a masterpiece is a book that has something wrong with it".) But, to be perverse here, I didn't think the productionAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-65320848660278036492008-03-27T09:32:00.000+11:002008-03-27T09:32:00.000+11:00For what it's worth, Adam, Alison et al, I had an ...For what it's worth, Adam, Alison et al, I had an almost identical response. I couldn't fathom why such a production would be programmed, with the female characters reduced to clownish archetypes, the clumsy use of design, the smugness...it was so pleased with itself. And ultimately so bloody daggy.<BR/><BR/>But there's nothing more likely to make you realise how disparate an audience can be thanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-29528259225569788832008-03-27T09:26:00.000+11:002008-03-27T09:26:00.000+11:00I'm enjoying this. My first time at this blog.In r...I'm enjoying this. My first time at this blog.<BR/><BR/>In response to Ben. I think it’s clear, in this case at least though not in all, that the emotional response is related to shifts in outlook, to change. The book is famous for eliciting a deep emotional response and is also claimed by many to be ‘a book that change my life’. I’ve heard many people talk of it in this way. The play seems to JulianIsAbouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03494513846614067266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-53803720113844441962008-03-27T02:48:00.000+11:002008-03-27T02:48:00.000+11:00that last anonymous was ben.that last anonymous was ben.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-46197568394174297042008-03-27T02:47:00.000+11:002008-03-27T02:47:00.000+11:00i haven't seen the piece yet, but am a bit fascina...i haven't seen the piece yet, but am a bit fascinated by these thoughts.<BR/><BR/>is something that moves people inherently valuable, as Adam posits? or can an 'emotional orgasm' (occuring in full waterwork spurt as they seem to have been for many) be as meaningless as a casual fuck?<BR/><BR/>is emotional 'movement' necessarily a sign of growth, learning, healing, or any kind of change? or can Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-89173093935026937682008-03-26T17:31:00.000+11:002008-03-26T17:31:00.000+11:00I think there is something in all of this... I don...I think there is something in all of this... I don't know what, but something. I had, I think, pretty much exactly the same reaction as Alison to Holding the Man... but at the end I saw people (many of whom I know to be cynical and cool, cool, cool) almost bent double with sobs, springing to their feet with standing ovations, drenched in tears. I was embarrassed because I thought I'd missed Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-30904290147278291192008-03-25T22:01:00.000+11:002008-03-25T22:01:00.000+11:00Hi Julian - many thanks for your meditation here. ...Hi Julian - many thanks for your meditation here. One thing I was particularly anxious not to do in this review (given my own response) was to belittle the responses of others, which I know have been genuine and heartfelt. As I said, I don't doubt the impact it's had - it just simply didn't register in that way at all for me, and these are some speculations I've made as to why that might be so (IAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-17042400973905349142008-03-25T20:52:00.000+11:002008-03-25T20:52:00.000+11:00This is a fascinating analysis. I don’t know the b...This is a fascinating analysis. I don’t know the book, but saw the show on Saturday night with my wife and her mother. We had a very full response to what we saw, one of those rare occasions when theatre was able to stir something quite deep and complex. <BR/><BR/>The first act seemed to me to be mostly plot, but nonetheless a highly entertaining trip though many years. I enjoyed the comedy and JulianIsAbouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03494513846614067266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-39716121217340988222008-03-25T15:54:00.000+11:002008-03-25T15:54:00.000+11:00I couldn't agree more Alison. I never reviewed it ...I couldn't agree more Alison. I never reviewed it for the blog... but you have definately captured my response to it.<BR/><BR/>(Maybe that's why I never uploaded a post about it.)Nicholas Pickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06765213293334506905noreply@blogger.com