| re: You are too kind | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:36 am EST 01/11/18 | |
| In reply to: re: You are too kind - Singapore/Fling 02:10 am EST 01/11/18 | |
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| Thanks for writing more. First of all, as I wrote early on (I think I saw it in the first week of previews), while I was greatly entertained by the show, I did not think it was a great play. (I am not sure I would say I "liked" in much more than the Facebook sense, though, as I say, I was well entertained and not bored.) Second, I very much believe in the diagnostic tools, but I also think that's what they are: things that can be used by those creating theatre, but not intended to shackle them or, most importantly, those consuming it. They may help tell stories, but I don't think we want to be telling (to pick a simple example) Richard Foreman or perhaps Beckett, that what they are writing are "barely plays." I've used this comment before, but I think it is apt here, that Paula Vogel has said that in teaching playwriting, she remains humbled by the notion that had someone turned in Hamlet, she would likely have given it a "D." (or something similar) Moving on, I don't think the playwright is required to tell a singular story to have more than "barely a play," but I have a fairly clear sense of the story being told (bipolar king, concerned wife seeking a "cure," brings that cure prompting the king to come to life and re-position so they can commune with nature (with backstory involving the courtiers) and, I assume we can agree, an unsatisfying ending.) I think if we start dismissing plays with unsatisfying endings we will have eliminated enough plays to prevent many theatres from getting a season up. I have no problem with your criticisms or analysis whether I agree or not; what triggered me was the dismissiveness: I think it is insulting to compare this to a (typical) jukebox musical. Also, you originally were pretty disparaging about Rylance, which you seem to have backed away from (no complaints here). I've gotten into this sort of discussion before (most often relating to lyrics I think) but I do think it is important in any art form to distinguish between what we are taught in school (or otherwise) about tools used to create, and how those tools are or are not employed. We have far more well-educated playwrights following what they were taught and writing lousy plays, and we have great playwrights who famously eschewed what they were taught to go on to become geniuses. (And yes, we also have both currents flowing in opposition to that, once again demonstrating that there are no rules. :-) ) |
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