tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post114431302914177269..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: It Just StoppedAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-10306950989261401842006-10-28T17:12:00.000+10:002006-10-28T17:12:00.000+10:00I saw this last night, and was wondering what othe...I saw this last night, and was wondering what others thought... I quite liked the surreal quality - where are we? is this happening or not? but I found the treatment of the material a bit simplistic. There is nothing revelatory about the fact that environmental and humanitarian disasters occur, and will continue to occur, while we go about living our lives. But the play didn't seem to offer any Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-39803870651189061472006-10-20T15:58:00.000+10:002006-10-20T15:58:00.000+10:00Aha - yes, it is changed (it's kind of reversed in...Aha - yes, it <i>is</i> changed (it's kind of reversed in the version I saw - the "it was only a dream" is a punchline at the end, and we accept the events of the play are "real", strange as they are).Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-69629255550837774572006-10-20T15:45:00.000+10:002006-10-20T15:45:00.000+10:00Well ... I cannot say for sure that it hasn't chan...Well ... I cannot say for sure that it hasn't changed in detail. But in substance it sounds very similar to the production you saw.<br /><br />Without saying exactly what happened in case your readers do actually go and see this ... <br /><br />... we are asked to accept that everything up until very near the end has been a depiction of Franklin's psychotic dream. So we accept that none of this Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16067738438037584666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-66824077614157028722006-10-20T14:21:00.000+10:002006-10-20T14:21:00.000+10:00I thought (someone told me) that the ending was ch...I thought (someone told me) that the ending was changed in the Sydney production? No?Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-56431591846425813182006-10-20T13:01:00.000+10:002006-10-20T13:01:00.000+10:00I attended It Just Stopped at Belvoir St in Sydney...I attended It Just Stopped at Belvoir St in Sydney last night and was prompted to write this after reading Bryce Hallett's review (http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts-reviews/it-just-stopped/2006/10/06/1159641494419.html) on the SMH Web site which is almost as simplistic and naive as the play itself. Unfortunately the SMH site does not allow comments to be posted so I scoured the Web and came across Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16067738438037584666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1160877648503318462006-10-15T12:00:00.000+10:002006-10-15T12:00:00.000+10:00I should have read your review before buying ticke...I should have read your review before buying tickets to the show! I am left leaning but am more inclined towards David Williamson's wit.Sngteyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00764173066393029007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1159920161892089342006-10-04T10:02:00.000+10:002006-10-04T10:02:00.000+10:00A later comment: Re-reading Edward Bond, I think I...<B>A later comment:</B> Re-reading Edward Bond, I think I've been absolutely unfair to his plays (although the more recent ones plays fit more what I described). Maybe I've been blinded by his essays, which are very didactic. But Bond's <I>Lear</I>, for instance, is a stunning, powerful and pitiless play which absolutely bears comparison with the best of Barker.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1146145095208209112006-04-27T23:38:00.000+10:002006-04-27T23:38:00.000+10:00Abe, you're absolutely right, I think. More later ...Abe, you're absolutely right, I think. More later if I can think of anything, but I've just had a bottle of wine and am a bit addled. Just wanted to say, yes, I totally agree; Sanctuary was bullshit. And there is a specifically Australian problem with idealism, which runs very counter to good old-fashioned Australian idealism. Much more complex of course than I can say at present.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1146122832868374352006-04-27T17:27:00.000+10:002006-04-27T17:27:00.000+10:00Hi AlisonI valued Sewell in his early days because...Hi Alison<BR/><BR/>I valued Sewell in his early days because his dramatic ambitions were so high that even if he never quite achieved them, he got close enough to make him worth seeing. His "failures" were far more interesting than the relative successes of many other Australian playwrights, but I didn't feel this play worked on any level for most of the reasons you articulated. One of the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1145576033354478932006-04-21T09:33:00.000+10:002006-04-21T09:33:00.000+10:00A revelation?! Well, who am I to say it isn't poss...A revelation?! Well, who am I to say it isn't possible...one of the things that gives me hope for the planet is that people are different from each other.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of which, Sweden will be completely weaned off oil products in a few years, thanks to clever planning. Which shows that it's entirely possible, if the will is there. The reason why the will isn't there is that the profits of Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1145574858692591452006-04-21T09:14:00.000+10:002006-04-21T09:14:00.000+10:00Brilliant! The most moving piece i have ever encou...Brilliant! The most moving piece i have ever encountered. I had a revelation during and after the performance and experience such amazing emotions. This play made me question my purpose in life, but more importantly i questioned whats it all for? I contemplated suicide just thinking about how meaningless life was because this play reveals so many truths and frankly-We are all in denial. It helpedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com