![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Yes, it's that time again. Term has started up and so there are student productions to review once more - hoorah. Alex and I went to a set of 3 plays described as "dark, edgy and satirical" under the title of Bash. Well, they were dark and edgy yes, but not really satirical. Psychological and sometimes violent (descriptions of, not action) they were well portrayed and somehow compelling. I definitely enjoyed them.
All 3 took the form of monologues - first, one guy in a leather armchair, second, a couple on stage telling the same story in a pair of interlocking monologues, sometimes touching/moving together as the story suggested but never speaking to each other which I thought worked really well and third a woman in a police interview room, almost echoing the feel of the first. All of the pieces centred around a traumatic (and often violent) act or decision by the protagonist and why they chose to do what they did. The first one was delivered a bit forcefully in places and in a poor American accent (all the plays were clearly set in the states and all the actors went for accents. They got better as they went along but the first one was grating) but was still pretty good. Unfortunately it was also marred by the fact that the guy delivering it was sitting in a leather chair most of the time which creaked loudly every time he moved. The third was perhaps the best delivered but the build-up in the script fell slightly flat at the end or didn't quite work somehow. The sets were very minimalist and lent the whole thing a claustrophobic feel which really suited but the lighting was very odd - quite stark changes which didn't always seem to suit the action.
Reading what I've written so far, it occurs to me that I'm sounding really critical. I really enjoyed the plays but I guess it's much easier to pick out what jarred or didn't work than what did. It occurs to me now to wonder who wrote them - it must have been an American I think - it might be interesting to see if (s)he's done anything else. I think edgy was the right word for them, especially when the actors resisted the temptation to be over emotional/forceful. It all had a contemplative feel, particularly the final one which contrasted nicely with the violent content of the stories they were telling. It was also interesting that there was no explicit discussion of the consequences of the actions - it was all implied, the way it had changed them.
For another view, Alex's review is here
All 3 took the form of monologues - first, one guy in a leather armchair, second, a couple on stage telling the same story in a pair of interlocking monologues, sometimes touching/moving together as the story suggested but never speaking to each other which I thought worked really well and third a woman in a police interview room, almost echoing the feel of the first. All of the pieces centred around a traumatic (and often violent) act or decision by the protagonist and why they chose to do what they did. The first one was delivered a bit forcefully in places and in a poor American accent (all the plays were clearly set in the states and all the actors went for accents. They got better as they went along but the first one was grating) but was still pretty good. Unfortunately it was also marred by the fact that the guy delivering it was sitting in a leather chair most of the time which creaked loudly every time he moved. The third was perhaps the best delivered but the build-up in the script fell slightly flat at the end or didn't quite work somehow. The sets were very minimalist and lent the whole thing a claustrophobic feel which really suited but the lighting was very odd - quite stark changes which didn't always seem to suit the action.
Reading what I've written so far, it occurs to me that I'm sounding really critical. I really enjoyed the plays but I guess it's much easier to pick out what jarred or didn't work than what did. It occurs to me now to wonder who wrote them - it must have been an American I think - it might be interesting to see if (s)he's done anything else. I think edgy was the right word for them, especially when the actors resisted the temptation to be over emotional/forceful. It all had a contemplative feel, particularly the final one which contrasted nicely with the violent content of the stories they were telling. It was also interesting that there was no explicit discussion of the consequences of the actions - it was all implied, the way it had changed them.
For another view, Alex's review is here
