Michael Portantiere takes a look at Time and the Conways:
The ability to play with time in one way or another is one of the most useful tools a dramatist possesses. Since time travel is not (yet?) possible for human beings in real life, the employment of flashbacks, flashes forward, non-linear storytelling, scenes presented in reverse chronological order, action occurring in different eras simultaneously, and other such devices can add tremendous depth and resonance to any dramatic tale, and can also greatly enhance irony and comedy. Some examples that leap to mind are Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, Harold Pinter's Betrayal, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along (based on the play by Kaufman and Hart), and the recently seen, severely flawed and muddled but nonetheless intriguing Bruce Norris play A Parallelogram. . . . |
