London is renowned for its excellent theatre and its dignified portrayal of the arts. Theatre is available in almost all areas of London in various venues and forms. London has made theatre a part of its culture through its abundant availablility for people of nearly every demographic area. While studying here in London, I have been fortunate enough to experience the phenomenon of London theatre on a weekly basis. I am currently enrolled in a theatre class and we discuss the different aspects and history of theatre here in this great city. We also venture to different theatres every week to experience the many different types of theatre available. The numerous plays that I have seen during my stay in London, in addition to the knowledge afforded to me through my theatre professor, have made me extremely appreciative of London's culture and portrayal of the arts. Throughout this past semester we have seen many different plays, each unique in both form and venue.
My first glimpse of London theatre occured when we saw 39 Steps. I wasn't able to fully appreciate this light comedy due to my jetlag, but was impressed by the acting and, in particular, the ability of the actors to carry on numerous roles. I didn't exactly know what to expect from this play but was, overall, happy with the performance. My second experience was at National Theatre in my viewing of Hamlet. This famous play, which originated with Shakespeare, is something that I've studied three times previously throughout my education. I found the National Theatre a great setting for the play and the acting, for the most part, impressive, especially in the case of the actor playing Hamlet. This play lived up to my expectations as being extremely dramatic and not overly exciting. I will admit that I did fall asleep at certain parts of the play, but I am satisfied to have finally seen the play that I have learned so much about it school.
My next trip to the theatre brought me to War Horse. I was entranced by the "puppets", if you could even call them that, that stole the show and left the human acting to seem amateur in comparison. These horses are created out of wood and in most instances have at least three puppeteers operating them at one time. The horses have been crafted and perfected to exhibit the natural appearance and movements of a real horse. War Horse was a play unlike anything I have ever seen before. By the end of the performance I stopped noticing the puppeteers maneuvering the horses, which has left me amazed and able to certainly state that it was a job well done.
Then came Vernon God Little, a play that has left everyone in our program with a drastically different opinion and reaction. Vernon God Little is a play that demonstrates a Texas community's reaction to a school shooting and how the media tends to portray these horrific events. It's odd to say that I found a play that in some way revolved around a school shooting humerous, but I did. It was rediculous and exaggerated the situation to such an extent that I was in no way offended. My introduction to this play in theatre class prepared me in some way to this performance because I learned that school shootings do not exactly occur here in England because of their strict gun control laws and people in England see them as common occurances over in America. I found the English portrayal of our American culture and stereotypes very interesting and at times extremely funny. I was able to agree with the rediculous way that the media in our country exaggerates and misleads information and with how the issue of gun control is viewed in different areas of our country. This play was bittersweet to me because it is a very sad and traumatic topic, but they're humerous portrayal of the aftermath of the events were not poking fun at these tragedies, but at the people who attempt to benefit from the fame of the media. I know that many people from our study abroad group would strongly disagree, but this is one of my favorite plays we've seen yet.
I don't have much to say about A Flea in Her Ear other than the accents left the performace inaudible for me and that it carried on about an hour too long. After A Flea in Her Ear came The Boy on the Swing, an extremely different and experimental performance that raised the issue of religion and whether god truly exists. I was extremely skeptical about this performace when I arrived at the venue, which was in an extremely sketchy building in a dark-lit alley, but was pleasantly suprised by the great acting and dark humor. The last play I have seen here in London is Mogadishu. This play made me feeling puzzled and a bit depressed. So many different issues and storylines were woven throughout this play that it left me with a headache and desire to leave at intermission. Racism, assault, dead fathers and mothers by suicide, wrist slitting, expulsion, and teen suicide were all integrated into the play in that exact order. I don't know what message was meant to be left by that play, or how it came to be called Mogadishu, since that city was mentioned for about half a second in the play, but I do not think I would recommend it to anyone.
Today I have another play to look forward to in about an hour, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, which is supposed to be a comedy, but I've lowered my standards for theatrical humor after A Flea in Her Ear. However, I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to see every one of these plays here in London. I am amazed by how drastically different each play has been from each other. Whether it's the venue, the stage, the cast, or even puppets, each play has had something unique to offer us. I am impressed by what London has to offer by means of theatre and look forward to our final performance of Frankenstein, a play I've looked forward to seeing all semester.
My first glimpse of London theatre occured when we saw 39 Steps. I wasn't able to fully appreciate this light comedy due to my jetlag, but was impressed by the acting and, in particular, the ability of the actors to carry on numerous roles. I didn't exactly know what to expect from this play but was, overall, happy with the performance. My second experience was at National Theatre in my viewing of Hamlet. This famous play, which originated with Shakespeare, is something that I've studied three times previously throughout my education. I found the National Theatre a great setting for the play and the acting, for the most part, impressive, especially in the case of the actor playing Hamlet. This play lived up to my expectations as being extremely dramatic and not overly exciting. I will admit that I did fall asleep at certain parts of the play, but I am satisfied to have finally seen the play that I have learned so much about it school.
My next trip to the theatre brought me to War Horse. I was entranced by the "puppets", if you could even call them that, that stole the show and left the human acting to seem amateur in comparison. These horses are created out of wood and in most instances have at least three puppeteers operating them at one time. The horses have been crafted and perfected to exhibit the natural appearance and movements of a real horse. War Horse was a play unlike anything I have ever seen before. By the end of the performance I stopped noticing the puppeteers maneuvering the horses, which has left me amazed and able to certainly state that it was a job well done.
Then came Vernon God Little, a play that has left everyone in our program with a drastically different opinion and reaction. Vernon God Little is a play that demonstrates a Texas community's reaction to a school shooting and how the media tends to portray these horrific events. It's odd to say that I found a play that in some way revolved around a school shooting humerous, but I did. It was rediculous and exaggerated the situation to such an extent that I was in no way offended. My introduction to this play in theatre class prepared me in some way to this performance because I learned that school shootings do not exactly occur here in England because of their strict gun control laws and people in England see them as common occurances over in America. I found the English portrayal of our American culture and stereotypes very interesting and at times extremely funny. I was able to agree with the rediculous way that the media in our country exaggerates and misleads information and with how the issue of gun control is viewed in different areas of our country. This play was bittersweet to me because it is a very sad and traumatic topic, but they're humerous portrayal of the aftermath of the events were not poking fun at these tragedies, but at the people who attempt to benefit from the fame of the media. I know that many people from our study abroad group would strongly disagree, but this is one of my favorite plays we've seen yet.
I don't have much to say about A Flea in Her Ear other than the accents left the performace inaudible for me and that it carried on about an hour too long. After A Flea in Her Ear came The Boy on the Swing, an extremely different and experimental performance that raised the issue of religion and whether god truly exists. I was extremely skeptical about this performace when I arrived at the venue, which was in an extremely sketchy building in a dark-lit alley, but was pleasantly suprised by the great acting and dark humor. The last play I have seen here in London is Mogadishu. This play made me feeling puzzled and a bit depressed. So many different issues and storylines were woven throughout this play that it left me with a headache and desire to leave at intermission. Racism, assault, dead fathers and mothers by suicide, wrist slitting, expulsion, and teen suicide were all integrated into the play in that exact order. I don't know what message was meant to be left by that play, or how it came to be called Mogadishu, since that city was mentioned for about half a second in the play, but I do not think I would recommend it to anyone.
Today I have another play to look forward to in about an hour, Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, which is supposed to be a comedy, but I've lowered my standards for theatrical humor after A Flea in Her Ear. However, I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to see every one of these plays here in London. I am amazed by how drastically different each play has been from each other. Whether it's the venue, the stage, the cast, or even puppets, each play has had something unique to offer us. I am impressed by what London has to offer by means of theatre and look forward to our final performance of Frankenstein, a play I've looked forward to seeing all semester.
No comments:
Post a Comment