In Celebration
I think this calls for
an unavoidable fangirl moment first (crap, can't type, my hands are too excited and I keep having to delete everything!)!
I waited with the other hordes of people (man, such hordes) and Orlando came out of the stage door about fifteen minutes after the curtain. At that point, pretty much all I could see was the top of his spiky hair and the occasional flash of one of those big brown eyes. Then he went back into the theatre, and much of the crowd disappated. I stayed behind, (along with a good few other people) because I thought he'd have to come back out that way at some point. After about an hour, all the other cast members had left. I was standing just behind some small kiddies (who hadn't seen the play, but had been dragged to the door by their mum! LOL!) so there wasn't much chance of me rushing forward. I didn't think kiddie stampeding would have been a good look (damn those principles!). Finally, Orlando came out again, and I managed to get a decent picture
Just after that, I blew him a kiss. And he only fucking grinned and winked at me.
*dies*
So, I'm a bit giddy right now. XD
Wow. What a harrowing play. It was great, and Orlando and the whole cast were wonderful. To give you a brief synopsis, three brothers return home to celebrate their parents' wedding anniversary. Their father is a coal miner, overbearing but well-meaning, who has above everything prided himself on giving his sons a good education. Their mother is a rather fragile figure, treated almost as a goddess by the men of the family - reluctantly in one of the son's cases. The eldest son, Andrew, was a very successful lawyer, who jacked it in to become an artist, though by his own admission, not a very good one. He's hyperactive and aggressively unhinged, and blames his parents for the disconnection he feels to society. He has some rather anarchic and nihilistic views. Colin is the middle brother, the wealty businessman who runs a car factory. He desperately seeks his parents' approval and attention, even (possibly) pretending that he is getting married, because it is what is expected of him. Stephen (Orlando's role) is the youngest son, a teacher, and something of a child prodigy. He's known as 'Silent Stephen', (though that's more to do with the fact that the rest of his family are so garrulous - his brother Andrew frequently speaks for him) and he's been trying to write a book for the past seven years. He's finally given up on it, because he's lost his way totally. He doesn't even really know what the book is about any more, though according to Andrew it's about 'the collapse of society'.
It is revealed that there had been a son older than Andrew, called Jamie, who died of pneumonia while their mother was pregnant with Stephen. Andrew was sent away to live with a neighbour for six weeks because his mother couldn't cope with the death of her son, and with two small boys and another on the way. Andrew never forgave her for it. It also transpires that their mother tried to commit suicide after Jamie died, while six months pregnant with Stephen. The brothers have all constructed a myth around this dead brother, that he was the sacrificial lamb of the family, because their mother fell pregnant by accident, and had to marry their father. She was intelligent, so they believe she had to give up whatever aspirations she might have had to marry him. They think she never forgave their father, and by proxy, both parents blamed Jamie for what happened. Andrew tells them he remembers that Jamie was covered in bruises from them beating him, even though the rest of the brothers weren't hit. Whether or not this is fictionalised by Andrew is not clear. Stephen suffers something of a breakdown during the course of the play, and we find out that he has been having disturbing nightmares about Jamie (who of course, he never knew) begging for his parents' forgiveness.
The play is a wonderfully observed piece about family life, and about the psychological wounds family members feel are inflicted upon them. In a very British way, this family are incredibly stilted with their affections, disguising their true feelings, or suddenly trying to incite one another, before cutting it off again and carrying on as though nothing had happened. Family members confide secrets with another family member, but there is no open discussion. One member cuts off another by revealing or withholding information, in an endless cycle of passive-agressive powerplay.
The way I interpreted it, the play is obliquely about abortion. If their mother had aborted Jamie, she would never have ended up marrying their father. She attempted to abort Stephen's life, by seeking to end her own. In a way, though, all three sons are aborted. As Andrew puts it, 'we're already dead'. They all feel a sense of disconnection and emptiness. Andrew, despite having a good career, is unfulfilled and dissatisfied with everything he does. He gets bored with anything quickly. He even suggests to his father that he wants to work in the mine. His father is horrified, because all he has ever done is work to try to prevent them from having to live the life he did, even though he is stubbornly proud of his work. Unfortunately, the life he dreamed he was giving his boys as he worked in the mine-shaft, existed in a world that was only in his head. The sons are displaced by their education. Knowledge has given them the luxury of intellectual malaise. Stephen, as the most intelligent son, is also the most damaged from this. He has lost all fire and passion, and can no longer articulate himself. Andrew keeps on trying to get him to explain why he has stopped writing, and Stephen becomes more and more uncomfortable.
When Stephen can't take any more of the tension, he goes upstairs and lies on a bed in the dark. (Fangirl interruption mode is active, so the review may now deviate from altogether objective analysis.) Orlando had me on the edge of my seat by then. He turned to the wall, and started sobbing. Dear lord, my heart... First Andrew, then his father go and check on him. Neither of them really know what to do about it. Eventually he comes downstairs, eyes red, and with wet cheeks. Andrew and his father start arguing about why Stephen is so upset, and Colin tries to shout Andrew down because he keeps antagonising their father, who doesn't understand why or what he is being blamed for. Andrew keeps encouraging Stephen to tell their father why he is so upset, Stephen crosses the room and sits on the sofa, his knees curled up in the foetal position. I swear to god, I had a lump in my throat. Orlando sat there, with his arms wrapped round his shins, and tears were rolling down his face. (Yes, you lot bloody know I'm an angstwhore. *facepalm*). When their father starts crying too, and saying how he only ever wanted the best for them, whatever Stephen might have said about the way he is feeling is never revealed, as he pulls himself together to comfort his father. And I loved that. I love that we never found out if there was a particular event in his childhood that affected him, or if he suffers from depression/borderline mental illness, or if it's something else hinted at - that he really is being 'haunted' by visions.
Eventually, they each go to bed, and the next morning is full of unresolved tension, and Colin and Stephen try to get Andrew to leave with them. Andrew all but forces his mother to dance with him in a deeply uncomfortable Oedipal moment, which culminates with him kissing her goodbye on the lips. Finally, all the sons leave, and everyone goes outside to wave them off except their mother. She grips on to the kitchen table, and suddenly her head goes back in a silent scream. By the time her husband comes back in, she is tidying away the breakfast things, and the meaningless chit-chat between them resumes, and nothing is resolved.
Goddamn, I love a good bit of theatre.
There were two curtain calls, and Orlando took centre stage on the second one. There were loads of whoops and whistles for him :) He actually has a huge amount to do in the play - although he is the quieter character, don't be fooled. He has plenty to say and do, and he's really the heart of the play, as all the other characters are reacting to him, in one way or another. He really was great, and I'll be incredibly pissed off if the critics don't at least TRY to write an actual review that doesn't employ all the lazy phrases they always use with this. Yes, there were moments his accent slipped, but he was not the only one. If he's singled-out for it, I will be sorely vexed. It was wonderful to see how different his style was on stage. All that wonderful subtletly and timing that he has that can be overlooked on film are so much more apparent here. I had felt nervous all day, I'll admit. But as soon as he stepped out on stage (and he's the first one out there) I relaxed completely. He's come a long way, and he's going to go even further. Our boy done good.
I'm going to sleep now xxx
an unavoidable fangirl moment first (crap, can't type, my hands are too excited and I keep having to delete everything!)!
I waited with the other hordes of people (man, such hordes) and Orlando came out of the stage door about fifteen minutes after the curtain. At that point, pretty much all I could see was the top of his spiky hair and the occasional flash of one of those big brown eyes. Then he went back into the theatre, and much of the crowd disappated. I stayed behind, (along with a good few other people) because I thought he'd have to come back out that way at some point. After about an hour, all the other cast members had left. I was standing just behind some small kiddies (who hadn't seen the play, but had been dragged to the door by their mum! LOL!) so there wasn't much chance of me rushing forward. I didn't think kiddie stampeding would have been a good look (damn those principles!). Finally, Orlando came out again, and I managed to get a decent picture
Just after that, I blew him a kiss. And he only fucking grinned and winked at me.
*dies*
So, I'm a bit giddy right now. XD
Wow. What a harrowing play. It was great, and Orlando and the whole cast were wonderful. To give you a brief synopsis, three brothers return home to celebrate their parents' wedding anniversary. Their father is a coal miner, overbearing but well-meaning, who has above everything prided himself on giving his sons a good education. Their mother is a rather fragile figure, treated almost as a goddess by the men of the family - reluctantly in one of the son's cases. The eldest son, Andrew, was a very successful lawyer, who jacked it in to become an artist, though by his own admission, not a very good one. He's hyperactive and aggressively unhinged, and blames his parents for the disconnection he feels to society. He has some rather anarchic and nihilistic views. Colin is the middle brother, the wealty businessman who runs a car factory. He desperately seeks his parents' approval and attention, even (possibly) pretending that he is getting married, because it is what is expected of him. Stephen (Orlando's role) is the youngest son, a teacher, and something of a child prodigy. He's known as 'Silent Stephen', (though that's more to do with the fact that the rest of his family are so garrulous - his brother Andrew frequently speaks for him) and he's been trying to write a book for the past seven years. He's finally given up on it, because he's lost his way totally. He doesn't even really know what the book is about any more, though according to Andrew it's about 'the collapse of society'.
It is revealed that there had been a son older than Andrew, called Jamie, who died of pneumonia while their mother was pregnant with Stephen. Andrew was sent away to live with a neighbour for six weeks because his mother couldn't cope with the death of her son, and with two small boys and another on the way. Andrew never forgave her for it. It also transpires that their mother tried to commit suicide after Jamie died, while six months pregnant with Stephen. The brothers have all constructed a myth around this dead brother, that he was the sacrificial lamb of the family, because their mother fell pregnant by accident, and had to marry their father. She was intelligent, so they believe she had to give up whatever aspirations she might have had to marry him. They think she never forgave their father, and by proxy, both parents blamed Jamie for what happened. Andrew tells them he remembers that Jamie was covered in bruises from them beating him, even though the rest of the brothers weren't hit. Whether or not this is fictionalised by Andrew is not clear. Stephen suffers something of a breakdown during the course of the play, and we find out that he has been having disturbing nightmares about Jamie (who of course, he never knew) begging for his parents' forgiveness.
The play is a wonderfully observed piece about family life, and about the psychological wounds family members feel are inflicted upon them. In a very British way, this family are incredibly stilted with their affections, disguising their true feelings, or suddenly trying to incite one another, before cutting it off again and carrying on as though nothing had happened. Family members confide secrets with another family member, but there is no open discussion. One member cuts off another by revealing or withholding information, in an endless cycle of passive-agressive powerplay.
The way I interpreted it, the play is obliquely about abortion. If their mother had aborted Jamie, she would never have ended up marrying their father. She attempted to abort Stephen's life, by seeking to end her own. In a way, though, all three sons are aborted. As Andrew puts it, 'we're already dead'. They all feel a sense of disconnection and emptiness. Andrew, despite having a good career, is unfulfilled and dissatisfied with everything he does. He gets bored with anything quickly. He even suggests to his father that he wants to work in the mine. His father is horrified, because all he has ever done is work to try to prevent them from having to live the life he did, even though he is stubbornly proud of his work. Unfortunately, the life he dreamed he was giving his boys as he worked in the mine-shaft, existed in a world that was only in his head. The sons are displaced by their education. Knowledge has given them the luxury of intellectual malaise. Stephen, as the most intelligent son, is also the most damaged from this. He has lost all fire and passion, and can no longer articulate himself. Andrew keeps on trying to get him to explain why he has stopped writing, and Stephen becomes more and more uncomfortable.
When Stephen can't take any more of the tension, he goes upstairs and lies on a bed in the dark. (Fangirl interruption mode is active, so the review may now deviate from altogether objective analysis.) Orlando had me on the edge of my seat by then. He turned to the wall, and started sobbing. Dear lord, my heart... First Andrew, then his father go and check on him. Neither of them really know what to do about it. Eventually he comes downstairs, eyes red, and with wet cheeks. Andrew and his father start arguing about why Stephen is so upset, and Colin tries to shout Andrew down because he keeps antagonising their father, who doesn't understand why or what he is being blamed for. Andrew keeps encouraging Stephen to tell their father why he is so upset, Stephen crosses the room and sits on the sofa, his knees curled up in the foetal position. I swear to god, I had a lump in my throat. Orlando sat there, with his arms wrapped round his shins, and tears were rolling down his face. (Yes, you lot bloody know I'm an angstwhore. *facepalm*). When their father starts crying too, and saying how he only ever wanted the best for them, whatever Stephen might have said about the way he is feeling is never revealed, as he pulls himself together to comfort his father. And I loved that. I love that we never found out if there was a particular event in his childhood that affected him, or if he suffers from depression/borderline mental illness, or if it's something else hinted at - that he really is being 'haunted' by visions.
Eventually, they each go to bed, and the next morning is full of unresolved tension, and Colin and Stephen try to get Andrew to leave with them. Andrew all but forces his mother to dance with him in a deeply uncomfortable Oedipal moment, which culminates with him kissing her goodbye on the lips. Finally, all the sons leave, and everyone goes outside to wave them off except their mother. She grips on to the kitchen table, and suddenly her head goes back in a silent scream. By the time her husband comes back in, she is tidying away the breakfast things, and the meaningless chit-chat between them resumes, and nothing is resolved.
Goddamn, I love a good bit of theatre.
There were two curtain calls, and Orlando took centre stage on the second one. There were loads of whoops and whistles for him :) He actually has a huge amount to do in the play - although he is the quieter character, don't be fooled. He has plenty to say and do, and he's really the heart of the play, as all the other characters are reacting to him, in one way or another. He really was great, and I'll be incredibly pissed off if the critics don't at least TRY to write an actual review that doesn't employ all the lazy phrases they always use with this. Yes, there were moments his accent slipped, but he was not the only one. If he's singled-out for it, I will be sorely vexed. It was wonderful to see how different his style was on stage. All that wonderful subtletly and timing that he has that can be overlooked on film are so much more apparent here. I had felt nervous all day, I'll admit. But as soon as he stepped out on stage (and he's the first one out there) I relaxed completely. He's come a long way, and he's going to go even further. Our boy done good.
I'm going to sleep now xxx