Most people know the story of Hamlet. They know he goes crazy and everyone dies at the end. But what happens behind the scenes action? What happens when characters leave the stage?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead discusses just that…what happens when these two characters leave the stage; the story Shakespeare didn’t pen.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead discusses just that…what happens when these two characters leave the stage; the story Shakespeare didn’t pen.
R&G is an absurdist script…meaning really;
“The Theatre of the Absurd departs from realistic characters, situations and all of the associated theatrical conventions. Time, place and identity are ambiguous and fluid, and even basic causality frequently breaks down. Meaningless plots, repetitive or nonsensical dialogue and dramatic non-sequiturs are often used to create dream-like, or even nightmare-like moods” (http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Theatre_of_the_Absurd).
Knowing this is important as an audience member. These scripts are difficult to produce. They are full of hard, hard, hard, moments to depict; even for fabulous actors. Samuel Beckett was a pioneer of this style, with one of his most popular plays, Waiting For Godot. People still philosophize about the hidden meanings, but who knows if there thruly are the true undertones.
Anyway, this rant pertains to a review I discovered about Centerstage’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It was not favorable in the slightest. Now, I have yet to see the show to give my production “two-cents,” but I’ve read the script and done my own philosophizing. So let me just say this: it is very difficult to understand and follow (especially if you don’t know Hamlet!). It is more difficult to perform. Page to stage transition is not as easy as it looks. Acting is not as easy as it looks; neither is directing, lighting, etc. Let’s be honest here, no job is easy in any circumstance if you don’t understand the logistics.
Knowing this is important as an audience member. These scripts are difficult to produce. They are full of hard, hard, hard, moments to depict; even for fabulous actors. Samuel Beckett was a pioneer of this style, with one of his most popular plays, Waiting For Godot. People still philosophize about the hidden meanings, but who knows if there thruly are the true undertones.
Anyway, this rant pertains to a review I discovered about Centerstage’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. It was not favorable in the slightest. Now, I have yet to see the show to give my production “two-cents,” but I’ve read the script and done my own philosophizing. So let me just say this: it is very difficult to understand and follow (especially if you don’t know Hamlet!). It is more difficult to perform. Page to stage transition is not as easy as it looks. Acting is not as easy as it looks; neither is directing, lighting, etc. Let’s be honest here, no job is easy in any circumstance if you don’t understand the logistics.
The show could very well be terrible, yes, but I like to give credit where credit is due and some things deserve some love even of they fail…miserably. Flops allow us to appreciate those that fly.
This is the tricky thing about theater; sometimes you have to understand it, know the background and some history, in order to comprehend the stage.
This is the tricky thing about theater; sometimes you have to understand it, know the background and some history, in order to comprehend the stage.
1 comment:
Glad to see you still blogging!
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