tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post7618354356297176109..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: Review: NinetyAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-50564096946071053822009-09-22T19:53:34.308+10:002009-09-22T19:53:34.308+10:00Hi there Alison,
I just had to watch Ninety for a...Hi there Alison,<br /><br />I just had to watch Ninety for an assignment for senior Drama for school, my task is to write an essay about "was ninety a good representation of Realism?" to me, i found this play utter bullshit, the female character's voice in my opinion was rather melodramatic, i didnt enjoy it at all, there were a few moments when it was slightly funny. <br /><br />I Kat Harpernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-37493558911630305572008-09-17T01:45:00.000+10:002008-09-17T01:45:00.000+10:00I salute you Alison. I thought the play was a tot...I salute you Alison. I thought the play was a total waste of time. What was the point? Two unpleasant people and, as seems per usual for JMS, a woman who cannot get on with her life. We walked out before the dead child but it was so obvious...<BR/><BR/>I wondered if Isabel was meant to be bi-polar which at least would have explained the quick switches in personality.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/><BRAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-85315848517738939582008-09-01T11:51:00.000+10:002008-09-01T11:51:00.000+10:00OK, stop crying Anon. Troubador, you can come out ...OK, stop crying Anon. Troubador, you can come out of the quiet corner when you've finished your lines. <BR/><BR/>I found the delete button at last and have removed the spam, but have left the other posts up for the no doubt profound edification of readers. But I will delete any further gratuitous name calling. And would like to slip out of my school marm cossie into something more comfortable.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-3126016589956186602008-09-01T10:17:00.000+10:002008-09-01T10:17:00.000+10:00Hi Alison,apologies to you and "me".I concede that...Hi Alison,<BR/><BR/>apologies to you and "me".<BR/><BR/>I concede that I failed to live up to my own standards. That's sad as (past history shows) they are pretty low.<BR/><BR/>I'm sending myself to my room immediately and will write a hundred times that from now on:<BR/><BR/>I will not lower the tone of the thread...<BR/>I will not lower the tone of the thread etc...<BR/><BR/>A forlorn hope Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-41558518647573067492008-09-01T08:15:00.000+10:002008-09-01T08:15:00.000+10:00Troubador started it...Troubador started it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-46636471588167690882008-09-01T02:14:00.000+10:002008-09-01T02:14:00.000+10:00My, how the tone falls in the wee hours. And me on...My, how the tone falls in the wee hours. And me on my way to bed. Children, could you stop hitting each other with spades for a moment while I point you to the comments policy? (It's a mere click away in the sidebar and clearly states that ad hominem abuse is not welcome here.) Said comments would be removed if blogger were not malfunctioning and not permitting me to do so. And I'll remind you asAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-12859874894525960022008-09-01T01:06:00.000+10:002008-09-01T01:06:00.000+10:00Speaking of eating shit... that poetic little exch...Speaking of eating shit... that poetic little exchange reminds me of graffiti in the Menzies building dunnies at Monash Uni. The content varied pretty much according to the floor you were on. (Philosophical stuff on floor 9, literary stuff on 7/8 & so on.) <BR/><BR/>On the French floor I once read: "vis a vis, and wees is wee, and never the twain shall meet." <BR/><BR/>Under it,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-44718219160131485692008-08-31T23:49:00.000+10:002008-08-31T23:49:00.000+10:00ode to "me"there once was a lonely upstartwho hate...ode to "me"<BR/><BR/>there once was a lonely upstart<BR/>who hated a critic of art<BR/>he used all of his wit<BR/>to reduce her to shit<BR/>but all he could produce was a fartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-14292420191018589262008-08-31T17:53:00.000+10:002008-08-31T17:53:00.000+10:00Hi Me...Is it wrong of me to laugh? The Pierian Sp...Hi Me...Is it wrong of me to laugh? The Pierian Springs are sure running hot here. But you got something wrong: it was the <I>Williamson</I> play that I called a dog. I mean, when I want to avoid nuance, I do so without apology...Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-82911472441486871812008-08-31T16:58:00.000+10:002008-08-31T16:58:00.000+10:00A poem. By me.There once was a poet named Crog,Who...A poem. <BR/>By me.<BR/><BR/>There once was a poet named Crog,<BR/>Who had all her readers agog.<BR/>She wrote this review:<BR/>‘Joanna - Fuck you!<BR/>That play of yours sure is a dog.’Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-81160957344681976782008-08-31T16:08:00.000+10:002008-08-31T16:08:00.000+10:00Hi Melissa - of course critique isn't agenda-less....Hi Melissa - of course critique isn't agenda-less. I have never claimed that mine is; the reverse, rather.<BR/><BR/>I am kind of sorry that nobody seems to have noticed that in that Greer piece I make as much fun of myself as I do of Joanna Murray-Smith. I'm the zonked bitch, remember. And that underneath that light-heartedness - which, I confess, was written merely to entertain readers (and why Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-15030047389667993172008-08-31T15:36:00.000+10:002008-08-31T15:36:00.000+10:00Alison, We haven't met in the real world, but i ha...Alison, <BR/><BR/>We haven't met in the real world, but i have put my name on this, it is something I'd say to you in person if we strayed onto the topic because I am a defender of brave critique in Australian Theatre (of which you are undoubtedly at the helm).<BR/><BR/>you wrote this the year before last on your site-<BR/><BR/>"In the mutual loathing stakes, Joanna Murray-Smith and I, who are Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-35905719130902518542008-08-31T12:22:00.000+10:002008-08-31T12:22:00.000+10:001. FWIW, I love to read what you say whether I agr...1. FWIW, I love to read what you say whether I agree with it or not. I expect that you will provide a new perspective or insight - and I don't think I've ever been disappointed. <BR/><BR/>2. FWIW, I've never thought of you as frightening. I'm only frightened of getting the wrong end of the stick and appearing foolish in what <I>I</I> say.<BR/><BR/>3. Am I the only one who thinks the premise is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-32056385798798751012008-08-31T11:00:00.000+10:002008-08-31T11:00:00.000+10:00Form you, Crog.Form you, Crog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-27162884063651397392008-08-31T09:05:00.000+10:002008-08-31T09:05:00.000+10:00For those who might be interested, I just looked u...For those who might be interested, I just looked up my review of Mueller's <A HREF="http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com/2006/08/construction-of-human-heart.html" REL="nofollow">Construction of the Human Heart</A>. Where I talk a lot about...form.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-52908320668088647952008-08-31T08:46:00.000+10:002008-08-31T08:46:00.000+10:00Hi NTG - good to know you're not sure either... I ...Hi NTG - good to know you're not sure either... I thought of Mueller's play too; it's a pertinent comparison. And a very good play indeed.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-28302840703909845192008-08-31T08:39:00.000+10:002008-08-31T08:39:00.000+10:00I've never seen a Murray-Smith play before. For t...I've never seen a Murray-Smith play before. For the first hour I was mildly entertained. The two characters, especially the male, seemed to be cliches and the dialogue seemed shallow and not that interesting. However there was some humour and there were a few good one-liners, so it was enjoyable enough. Then came the dead child revelation. Was that supposed to make us see some depth and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-36747464950159037112008-08-30T23:04:00.000+10:002008-08-30T23:04:00.000+10:00At least my kids aren't scared of me. Sometimes I ...At least my kids aren't scared of me. Sometimes I wish they were. Maybe you could all talk to them and make them understand what a termagant I really am? They just laugh.<BR/><BR/>To be as general as possible: form - writerly or otherwise - interests me deeply. It seems to me that anyone interested in art is dealing with the problem of form, from the most strictly measured sonnet or ghazal to theAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-36763190175110408732008-08-30T21:12:00.000+10:002008-08-30T21:12:00.000+10:00Yes, I concede the word 'woman' was misjudged. I ...Yes, I concede the word 'woman' was misjudged. <BR/><BR/>I wan't implying you had made comments about the actual woman, as that would be bizarre. My point is your irritation (or whatever) seems to be aimed at her entire body of work - at her 'grasp of writerly form'.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps that's fair enough, and perhaps not.<BR/><BR/>And Blackbird is in another league altogether. The bestest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-23265748548557613082008-08-30T20:31:00.000+10:002008-08-30T20:31:00.000+10:00I saw Ninety last night and found it pretty disapp...I saw Ninety last night and found it pretty disappointing. The dead child was such a cheap trick. I really thought there was about to be some sort of illumination but –– nothing. It made me feel depressed too, such narcissistic characters, no savagery, no honesty and in the end it was all so bloody painful and artificial. <BR/><BR/>I also loved Blackbird and I enjoy this blogspot but do agree Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-15353206717233340592008-08-30T18:41:00.000+10:002008-08-30T18:41:00.000+10:00PS Re: "Okay, I didn’t say you made comments about...PS Re: "Okay, I didn’t say you made comments about ‘the person’" - is a "woman" different from a person? You do claim I am "irritated" with the "woman" rather than the play.<BR/><BR/>(And apologies for the spam post above from the splendidly named Busby CEO Challenge - I seem to have temporarily lost the ability to get rid of it.)Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-26720551898638234492008-08-30T18:02:00.000+10:002008-08-30T18:02:00.000+10:00Oh, if you could see what a pussycat I really am.....Oh, if you could see what a pussycat I really am...<BR/><BR/>My apologies for scaring you. But since it's been very publicy claimed that the only reason I don't like Murray-Smith's work is because I'm jealous of her success on my husband's behalf, perhaps you might understand my peevishness. The vibe is that this kind of theatre does nothing for me, rather I find its effect is vampiricially Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-63003152784752176962008-08-30T17:56:00.000+10:002008-08-30T17:56:00.000+10:00Okay, I didn’t say you made comments about ‘the pe...Okay, I didn’t say you made comments about ‘the person’.<BR/><BR/>I didn’t say you ‘have to like the work’ - as that would be absurd.<BR/><BR/>I didn’t ‘seek to smear your motives’, nor was I arguing with ‘what I think you said' (??) - and I don’t need you to reaffirm my right to disagree (but gee, thanks!)<BR/><BR/>I was referring to contempt in your review which I think is obvious in the ‘Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-47309132521272330292008-08-30T15:18:00.000+10:002008-08-30T15:18:00.000+10:00Hi Anon - quite frankly, I challenge you to find o...Hi Anon - quite frankly, I challenge you to find <I>one</I> comment that is about the person and not the work. My problem has never been with the person - I don't know her personally. She might be a wholly charming woman. My problem has always been with the writing and the ideas in the writing. I seek to be fair - I think she's a considerable cut above writers like Rayson and Williamson, and say Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-68869155728553214642008-08-30T14:08:00.000+10:002008-08-30T14:08:00.000+10:00I wouldn't review her work, Alison.Although I'm su...I wouldn't review her work, Alison.<BR/><BR/>Although I'm sure everything you say is perfectly justified - your irritation with the woman, not the play, shines through.<BR/><BR/>It's a little depressing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com