tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post566906350783094437..comments2024-02-18T19:36:43.844+11:00Comments on theatre notes: The Birthday Party and other late thoughtsAlison Croggonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-66633693813165550422009-07-25T08:23:04.247+10:002009-07-25T08:23:04.247+10:00Thanks Tom. Different responses are what make thea...Thanks Tom. Different responses are what make theatre so interesting. And human!<br /><br />I had quite bad seats for The Birthday Party, although the corner staging won't have affected my experience of the performances, which I could see all the time; I just couldn't properly see the shape of the mise en scene and design.<br /><br />I kind of feel I have to defend myself here, for Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-39634865714789602712009-07-24T18:25:51.283+10:002009-07-24T18:25:51.283+10:00Hi Alison. Just confirming that I was there on Ope...Hi Alison. Just confirming that I was there on Opening Night too. Same show, very different responses.tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052329710059135012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-71323853988540289772009-07-20T00:40:56.599+10:002009-07-20T00:40:56.599+10:00The vacuuming - that's what I had to do tomorr...The vacuuming - that's what I had to do tomorrow! Thanks for reminding me, Anonymous.<br /><br />But to suggest, as you did, Anonymous, that I was "shitting all over someone" (I assume you meant the play), is a bit much, isn't it? Just because I suggested a possible ulterior motive for the casting (and the casting alone), doesn't mean that I am discarding all the artistic Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-6395168761938251912009-07-19T22:16:28.364+10:002009-07-19T22:16:28.364+10:00Er... please keep it civilised, guys. Or at least ...Er... please keep it civilised, guys. Or at least check out the comments policy. Abuse is no substitute for argument, at least here.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-12718696793237089862009-07-19T19:50:43.820+10:002009-07-19T19:50:43.820+10:00epistemysic, if you must insist on blogging, then ...epistemysic, if you must insist on blogging, then learn to write. Because there's no excuse for shitting all over someone and then backpeddling the second you're questioned with "oh, but i didn't mean that". You suck. And for not attending the play whose ideas you're bagging, you suck harder.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-50652337374223564992009-07-19T09:12:38.792+10:002009-07-19T09:12:38.792+10:00Thanks for your comments, Tom. My qualifier on his...Thanks for your comments, Tom. My qualifier on his performance in the piece is because I saw it on opening night (are we speaking of the same performance?) and did wonder if there was a sketch of something going on there that might develop into something else that I couldn't perceive. It was clearly a deliberate choice. But the night I saw it, it really neutralised the play for me. Only one Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-14452813260903355492009-07-18T13:28:08.334+10:002009-07-18T13:28:08.334+10:00I'll second Troubador's recommendation of ...I'll second Troubador's recommendation of Bug. A terrific film. I'd love to see Friedkin's Birthday Party -- it sounds like a perfect match of director and material.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05523747990880689432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-70438620113194303512009-07-17T12:02:32.267+10:002009-07-17T12:02:32.267+10:00Just picking up on Alison's comment that the c...Just picking up on Alison's comment that the casting brings some new energy in the MTC purview, my response to the show was that it was the first MTC play for years which lifted out of the smoothly engineered, well-performed, well-made but somehow predictable pack. For me it had the integrated purpose, intensity and political clarity of a really good independent production. I was gripped withtomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052329710059135012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-54180076167393313112009-07-14T11:03:33.534+10:002009-07-14T11:03:33.534+10:00Going off on a tangent for a second, I picked up a...Going off on a tangent for a second, I picked up a bargain bin copy of William Friedkin's 2006 movie of the Tracy Letts play, Bug. I was a little apprehensive as it had a very mixed critical reception but I think it's one of the most effective play to screen transfers I've ever seen. All the more creditable as 90% of the action takes place in a cheap motel room. <br /><br />The play Troubadornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-48070972128007973682009-07-14T10:06:37.615+10:002009-07-14T10:06:37.615+10:00There are no gods on my table, 4 Coffins. OK, I te...There are no gods on my table, 4 Coffins. OK, I tell a lie, there are a couple of statues of Ganesha...<br /><br />The canonisation of Pinter is a little double edged, I would argue; he's more often cited as a Great Writer so what he does can be safely ignored. The reason I admire Pinter's work isn't because he's a canonical writer. It's because when I read or see his plays Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-43487283545322333862009-07-13T23:49:55.712+10:002009-07-13T23:49:55.712+10:00(I reckon you got into a bit of a hole there EP! I...(I reckon you got into a bit of a hole there EP! I know what you meant though.)<br /><br />However I don't think an indigenous cast is exactly going to keep the MTC subscribers applauding well into the night... nor do I think it's a "positive image" thing. I think it's a director asking some curly questions.<br /><br />For me, it adds to the play signifantly and in a way Richard Pettiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00916298496154973547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-64841670347721395532009-07-13T23:02:54.065+10:002009-07-13T23:02:54.065+10:00The only reason I was referring to it as "nov...The only reason I was referring to it as "novelty" was because we are talking about it. We wouldn't be talking about the director choosing an "all-white" cast if an all-white cast had been chosen, would we? (Even if perhaps we should be.)<br /><br />As for the reasons for the things I said, I was springboarding off 4 Coffin's comment, "for me the indigenous Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-21290565300922546092009-07-13T22:37:22.061+10:002009-07-13T22:37:22.061+10:00Hi EP and BD (very euphonious)... I really don'...Hi EP and BD (very euphonious)... I really don't think the cross-racial casting is an issue here, in any negative way I mean. It's the most interesting aspect of the production, it's thoughtfully done so it doesn't cheapen the play or the issues it brings to bear on the text, and it works, not least because it brings a brilliant new energy into the MTC purview. I'm hoping it Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-8398117091371687192009-07-13T21:51:06.122+10:002009-07-13T21:51:06.122+10:00Who is dubbing the casting of The Birthday Party &...Who is dubbing the casting of The Birthday Party 'novelty'? Criticising the assumed middle-class/brow theatre audience often betrays the middle-class/brow voice of the critic. I don't think many people who saw this show took its casting as cheap tokenism. The politics were subtle but potent, and it's a rare marketing department that controls the casting process.<br /><br />Some ofBorn Dancin'https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526760383290674186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-45820346143602702772009-07-13T17:36:54.631+10:002009-07-13T17:36:54.631+10:00While I’m sure there were good intentions behind t...While I’m sure there were good intentions behind the casting, the cynic in me can’t help but think that having such a cast gives the production a virtual Bad Review Shield. While a play with all white actors could be heavily criticised with impunity, if the same were to happen to this play, I can envisage the headlines in the paper the next day: “Critic’s Hidden Racism”, “Government Says Sorry Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-85434111657011943972009-07-13T14:01:16.819+10:002009-07-13T14:01:16.819+10:00Aaargh. Thanks for pointing out that error, 4 Coff...Aaargh. Thanks for pointing out that error, 4 Coffins, and apologies. I'll correct myself right away.<br /><br />Yes, I absolutely see your point. It isn't that I feel the production is without virtue, as I hope is clear. At the same time, I was very disappointed. I felt like there was all the architecture for something splendid, but nobody had switched on the lights...Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202906.post-6251249100118541382009-07-13T13:53:02.272+10:002009-07-13T13:53:02.272+10:00Interesting comments Alison - for me the indigenou...Interesting comments Alison - for me the indigenous casting and its lack of obvious justification created its own crisis that counters any chocolatey approach to language. Recently I've been considering an extreme position that all Australian theatre should be about correcting history, (mainly spurred by a recent startling wikipedia discovery that there was a significant massacre in my home Richard Pettiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00916298496154973547noreply@blogger.com