tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post4165899901527123210..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: Review: Random, The Laramie Project - 10 Years Later, Next to NormalAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-7127258396169291772011-06-01T14:05:27.185+10:002011-06-01T14:05:27.185+10:00Interesting dsicussion, and thanks - I think it...Interesting dsicussion, and thanks - I think it's a mistake to confuse representation with the thing itself. Art offers representation, is all: representation can be extremely powerful, but it is only representation. It is a mistake to make grandiose claims about art's capacity to change things, for instance - but that's also no reason to deplore it or to claim it does nothing. I can Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-44258755298880842042011-05-31T10:07:20.224+10:002011-05-31T10:07:20.224+10:00It's interesting that you mention The Boys, Sc...It's interesting that you mention The Boys, Scorpion, because I had written a little bit about that too in my initial response on this thread – but deleted it. Again, I have not seen the play, but I did last about ten minutes in a screening of the film before walking out. I didn't leave because it wasn't any good. Quite the opposite in fact … and I had no interest whatsoever in being Geoffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05409350618909242278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-24723397254496662352011-05-31T06:16:56.767+10:002011-05-31T06:16:56.767+10:00Hey 4coffins, I think I reckon I might get what yo...Hey 4coffins, I think I reckon I might get what you're saying - differentiating between the power of the actual events that occured and the act of the theatre you witnessed - and whether one can even come close to being able to stand up to the power of the first.<br /><br />Geoffrey, the tears thing you mentioned filled me with such a deep and profound awfulness I think my skin may be the scorpionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-76109574220893814542011-05-31T00:22:39.315+10:002011-05-31T00:22:39.315+10:00Hello Alison,
This is a private comment about one...Hello Alison,<br /><br />This is a private comment about one of your poems, "Seduction Poem", which I recently discovered on poetryarchive.org, and I didn't see another way to contact you. I just wanted to tell you how exquisite, earthy, honest and intimate I found it. And when I listened again, I discovered the extraordinarily tender inside-outside rhyme scheme. Wow. Thanks so muchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-18875611200027059312011-05-27T11:06:57.048+10:002011-05-27T11:06:57.048+10:00Don't despair 4Cs, really. One of things I lov...Don't despair 4Cs, really. One of things I love about TN is that is one of the very few places in cyberspace where passionate debate and differences of opinion can occur. There have been some memorable ones over the years!Geoffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05409350618909242278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-5234041656862483552011-05-26T22:59:16.500+10:002011-05-26T22:59:16.500+10:00Geoffrey as for your frustration with my comment I...Geoffrey as for your frustration with my comment I can only again apologise for my apparent cavalier attitude above, I felt a bit queasy when I got your responses and re-read what I had written, and again I blame blogger deleting my previous well-thought out and more considered post, which is now lost in the ether.<br /><br />But I think for you it is something other than theatre - I do Richard Pettiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00916298496154973547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-3915354558202475382011-05-26T09:14:06.501+10:002011-05-26T09:14:06.501+10:00Quite, Alison. And that is as much the reason for ...Quite, Alison. And that is as much the reason for its pointlessness as anything else.<br /><br />I would also argue that the media narratives have not been "simplistic" ... although quite possibly for those who have who have kept up with the story through regular media 'anniversary updates' and such, might have found them so.Geoffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05409350618909242278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-34557648120268225952011-05-26T09:04:40.783+10:002011-05-26T09:04:40.783+10:00I think you might have found this interesting, Geo...I think you might have found this interesting, Geoffrey, precisely because its focus was that political movement (and the play was in fact part of it). It certainly wasn't seeking to sensationalise - an important part of both plays was a disassembling of simplistic media narratives. But quite, no play is going to be the same as real events, and neither should it be. I think that was the pointAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-10118602083422884682011-05-26T00:16:23.173+10:002011-05-26T00:16:23.173+10:00I don't have opinions one way or the other abo...I don't have opinions one way or the other about the plays 4Cs. I have seen neither of them in any of their incarnations, and doubt I ever will. In many ways, I believe the murder of Matthew Shepard is actually theatre-defying – in precisely the same way as the events of September 11 are cinema-defying. That is not to dismiss the intentions of the theatre-makers, but rather a personal Geoffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05409350618909242278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-81063030516984706002011-05-25T08:57:12.158+10:002011-05-25T08:57:12.158+10:00(Blogger is really being a pain at the moment! Sor...(Blogger is really being a pain at the moment! Sorry peeps. Even I am losing comments...)<br /><br />Tectonic Theatre's original script takes care to foreground its artifice as theatre (which is what I mean by "alienation" - bad translation of Brecht's term, really). Which is to say, instead of unthinkingly empathising, the audience is asked to think about the empathies they Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-33892920118475544162011-05-24T00:51:45.766+10:002011-05-24T00:51:45.766+10:00I have been too callous - I put it down to my init...I have been too callous - I put it down to my initial comment being declined and my subsequent abbreviated version.<br /><br />I didn't intend to trivialise the issue A.c.s.a, I understand the importance of the legislation, and something of the politics surrounding it, though I am not gay. I only meant to question its presentation as theatre, not the reality of its subject matter.<br /><br />Richard Pettiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00916298496154973547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-21828028846862678972011-05-23T21:07:23.242+10:002011-05-23T21:07:23.242+10:00Perhaps this will make it a little easier for you ...Perhaps this will make it a little easier for you 4 Coffins:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard<br /><br />... and particularly the section titled "Hate crime legislation".Geoffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05409350618909242278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-3158947677524081322011-05-23T18:29:23.993+10:002011-05-23T18:29:23.993+10:00'Some sort of American Politics movement thing...'Some sort of American Politics movement thing'. By which you mean the Federal Hate Crimes Legislation passed in the US in 2009 - and also the fight to recognise gay people in same sex marriages? Both issues that affect people outside the US and neither of which, incidentally, we have legislation for in Australia.Anyone can say anythingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-41319205433054500752011-05-23T17:36:27.062+10:002011-05-23T17:36:27.062+10:00wrote a whole bloody thing and tried to send it bu...wrote a whole bloody thing and tried to send it but "unexpected error" grrr...<br /><br />Basically what I want to pick up on r.e Laramie is your comment "takes the theatrical alienation a step further". I think the word that dominated my disappointment with this play was 'removal'; just too much of it 1) Not the original cast, 2)not the original time of the first Richard Pettiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00916298496154973547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-77446561125378028442011-05-20T11:36:21.487+10:002011-05-20T11:36:21.487+10:00I had to give up my ticket to Red Stitch's Lar...I had to give up my ticket to Red Stitch's Laramie, so both [a] appreciate your best efforts within life's limits and [b] am disappointed to be missing what your teaser reports is a good show!J-Lonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-58010505642554748282011-05-14T09:01:37.912+10:002011-05-14T09:01:37.912+10:00My understanding is that there are day seats (whic...My understanding is that there are day seats (which are cheaper) for Next to Normal...daniel clarkenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-31065063422056648872011-05-13T01:30:59.254+10:002011-05-13T01:30:59.254+10:00There's always day seats which are $18... http...There's always day seats which are $18... http://www.mtc.com.au/tickets/boxoffice/discount-tickets.aspxClarenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-44986566148552152962011-05-11T23:21:24.048+10:002011-05-11T23:21:24.048+10:00Not even we lowly VCA kids can get cheapies!Not even we lowly VCA kids can get cheapies!James Andrew Cooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-86116948559709116172011-05-11T12:57:06.493+10:002011-05-11T12:57:06.493+10:00I was planning to see Next to Normal but changed m...I was planning to see Next to Normal but changed my mind after seeing a number of excerpts on You Tube. (Methinks the boy is right.)Troubadornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-76255475190953540032011-05-11T11:27:31.756+10:002011-05-11T11:27:31.756+10:00Hi Cameron - I see you've been soldiering on n...Hi Cameron - I see you've been soldiering on notwithstanding. Without causing me mega-distress, it's one of those ills that hangs around and hangs around and hangs around ad nauseam. Melbourne! Winter!<br /><br />Thanks James. I checked the website and youth tickets for N2M are advertised at $65 (full $99). I wonder if they do student rush tix? But yes, definitely steep.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-39911587552580266062011-05-10T18:40:08.525+10:002011-05-10T18:40:08.525+10:00As far as I'm aware, the MTC scrap the $30 tic...As far as I'm aware, the MTC scrap the $30 tickets for shows like Next to Normal, The Drowsy Chaperone, Hamlet and The Importance of Being Ernest. <br />Once they don't need us poor students to fill their empty seats.James Andrew Cooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-45121652663021372222011-05-10T12:09:25.358+10:002011-05-10T12:09:25.358+10:00Hope you didn't catch your cold from me. It...Hope you didn't catch your cold from me. It's pure evil ... though performances like Ms Newman's in Random make it bearable.Cameron Woodheadhttp://cameronwoodhead.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-1683988565557466372011-05-10T09:06:28.170+10:002011-05-10T09:06:28.170+10:00Hi Anon - The boy objected to the music itself, wh...Hi Anon - The boy objected to the music itself, which he said reminded him strongly of some YouTube musicals he's been patronising. Certainly my ears began to tire after an hour or so: I think part of my problem after interval, aside from the over-heavy plotting, was simply that it began to get threadbare on repetition. Nothing like the liveliness of pastiche in something like Hairspray. FairAlison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-27916406211643469282011-05-09T22:26:35.796+10:002011-05-09T22:26:35.796+10:00Thank you for doing what you do, Alison!
I'm ...Thank you for doing what you do, Alison! <br />I'm looking forward to seeing Random this week, I think Zhara is one of the most talented and exciting young actors working in Melbourne at the moment. <br />My advice to those wanting to see Laramie is to book soon, as it is nearly sold out. <br />Would love to see Next to Normal, but as usual, when the MTC doesn't need to work too hard to James Andrew Cooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-27494615181759299852011-05-09T21:32:18.903+10:002011-05-09T21:32:18.903+10:00Perhaps I have not yet been exposed to enough chee...Perhaps I have not yet been exposed to enough cheesy music in musicals, because I loved the music (or maybe it’s because I don’t listen to the radio). For your more seasoned ears it may have been a ‘whistle-stop tour of contemporary pop’ (neat phrase), but I love a feel-good-feel-sad song nown’ then. <br /><br />I enjoyed the second half much more than the first, largely because I found Kate Vikkinoreply@blogger.com