Monday 20 June 2011
300 word review
‘Under Milkwood’ is one of those plays that you’ll either love or hate; and unfortunately I was under the latter of the two.
The piece is based on Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio play, which is immersed with a variety of different characters whom all live in the welsh village of Llareggub – a fictional town which cleverly spells ‘bugger all’ backwards. Director Kath Rogers brings a new ‘twist’ ,so to speak , on the piece by bringing the radio station to the theatre. He also introduces a new character into the scene in the form of the rather distraught sound affects woman, who disrupts and sabotages the radio play.
It is far to say that without the use of the sound affects woman the entire of piece wouldn’t have been worth watching – after all watching two people stand and read a play for nearly two hours is hardly entertainment. But eventually the attempts of her being ‘humours’ – in the form of her getting drunk and causing all forms of mischief – grows tiresome and repetitive in itself.
The acting, however, was brilliant – leaving the flaws of the piece on the directors’ shoulders. The two radio presenters created flawless different voices, and the relationship between the three characters was touching at times.
There is a part of me that believes that perhaps I am too young to fully appreciate the piece – especially seeing that the majority of the audience was over the age of 50 and seemed to find the entire piece hilarious. Therefore, taking this into account I would not recommend the piece to any one of my age, as that it just lacks the energy that the youth of the today looks for within theatre.
The piece is based on Dylan Thomas’s 1954 radio play, which is immersed with a variety of different characters whom all live in the welsh village of Llareggub – a fictional town which cleverly spells ‘bugger all’ backwards. Director Kath Rogers brings a new ‘twist’ ,so to speak , on the piece by bringing the radio station to the theatre. He also introduces a new character into the scene in the form of the rather distraught sound affects woman, who disrupts and sabotages the radio play.
It is far to say that without the use of the sound affects woman the entire of piece wouldn’t have been worth watching – after all watching two people stand and read a play for nearly two hours is hardly entertainment. But eventually the attempts of her being ‘humours’ – in the form of her getting drunk and causing all forms of mischief – grows tiresome and repetitive in itself.
The acting, however, was brilliant – leaving the flaws of the piece on the directors’ shoulders. The two radio presenters created flawless different voices, and the relationship between the three characters was touching at times.
There is a part of me that believes that perhaps I am too young to fully appreciate the piece – especially seeing that the majority of the audience was over the age of 50 and seemed to find the entire piece hilarious. Therefore, taking this into account I would not recommend the piece to any one of my age, as that it just lacks the energy that the youth of the today looks for within theatre.
Monday 23 May 2011
Ion
The storyline was complimented by the untraditional use of space. Although the storyline was lost sometimes, the way in which the diector chose an unconventional route made up for it, making it a enjoyable short piece.
Lydee
Although the actors skills were incredible - a two man show with each actor playing numerous roles flawlessly. The story itself was not to my taste, and I felt it dragged on a bit. However, luckily the characterisation kept me gripped through out.
Avenue Q
A simple, yet highly humourous piece. Using puppets that resembled those from a children's TV's show; it used this to contrast with the crude, and at times, offensive context to create a piece that was nothing more than a lot of fun. Filled with cheeky characters, and catchy songs, it certainly brightened up my evening.
Metamorphoses
The Ustinov never ceases to amazing, or entertain me, and I was certainly not let down with this gem of a show. With so much happening in one piece - songs, heavy amounts of physical movement, all well telling a collection of short stories that cleverly intertwined - all of this within a hour and half piece could have ended up in a messy disaster; but the whole thing worked so smoothly together, creating a beautifully crafted piece of theatre
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