Plays and Paper

Does anyone else find reading plays unsatisfying, at times? It's just a skeleton of what it wants to be. But we theater-people must read them if we hope to accumulate any analytical skills and the vocabulary necessary to make bold artistic decisions. I consider myself very bad at reading. So I've made it my own special challenge to read at least three plays every week this summer, and then post about them. I'm just a student trying to better myself intellectually. Feel free to question, discuss, and follow along.

[averageplayreader-blog]

I was able to see this new adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart last Saturday. 

I was blown away by how fresh and relevant it was to today’s struggles for women in power. Not only that, but even though I read the historical events of the play beforehand, each reveal of betrayal and trade of trust came as a surprise. The actors were amazing, and well directed. My personal favorite was Justin Blanchard (Robert Dudley), mostly because he was my acting teacher this semester, but also because he did a fantastic job as one of the more difficult characters. The entire play I wondered to whom was he actually loyal?

If you like history, politics, tragedy, star crossed romance, or just plain old well done theater, go see it!

[averageplayreader-blog]

A really great way to start out.

I thought it would be a simple retelling of the classic and potentially untouchable novel, but it was not. While maintaining the integrity of Orwell’s book, it takes the primary messages a step further. What does this play mean now, 60, 70 years later? What does it mean in 2050? There’s some meta aspects, where the play acknowledges the audience or reader, making them question where they are, what year it is, etc. My favorite aspect is the way one of the characters outside of the story points out that O’brien was right when telling Winston that he did not exist. He is just a fictional character after all. As a reader, a chill went up my spine when it occurred to me that reality can be shattered (in a play, in a book, in life) in a second. I can’t get the words “We should never have trusted them” to stop replaying in my mind. 

My only hesitation with this play is that it seems to require very many technical elements in order to tell the story as imagined by Icke and Macmillan. Meaning that low budget companies with which I am used to working will not have an easy time. Personally I like a play that when stripped to the core, still has a solid story. There is one without all that technical hoopla, of course, but it would take some problem solving.

Overall I %100 recommend 1984!