2nd Year Actor's Centre company presented the above tonight! I went to see a friend who was performing and ended up bumping into two old uni mates - I enjoyed!
Stand Out Quotes of the Night:
from 'Scenes from Philistines by Maxim Gorky'
Adaptation by Andrew Upton
Opinions don't like to be silent
from 'Scenes from Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov'ASTROV: And when they don't know what label to stick on my forehead, they say "he is a queer fellow, very queer!" I am fond of forestry - that's queer!
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SONYA: I am not good looking. YELENA: You have beautiful hair.
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Watching these plays has made me want to read some more Chekhov! He has amazing wit and insight into life: a wasted life. Which is I think is what I saw as the linking theme between each snippet of plays by the three Russian playwrights...
the meaninglessness of mores, the valuelessness of wealth and the fruitlessness of unrequited love.
What also impressed me is the clear shared culture of the plays (1888-1902?) with that of our own: sex, lies, broken relationships, pursuit of wealth, fortune and a name (oh not to forget tea - we all love a cuppa!).
Friday, March 28, 2008
Chekhov, Gorky & Strindberg (Sex, Lies & Samovars)...
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1 comment:
don't you find Chekhov to be a tad depressing?
I was reading some short stories of his late last year & ended up throwing the book out because I couldn't stand how bleak it was.
Maybe if I'd had a lot of vodka before I started reading...
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