Macbeth and Vlavla
First of all SQUEEEEEE. I did it. I spent a weekend in NYC by myself and have had an amazing time. Insert more squee here.
I’m going to start with the play.
First, I said I was going to leave my friend’s apartment at 7. I left a little late. Then the train was running late, but I was with other people who were also going to the show (serendipitously) and felt better that other people were running late. Also that I wasn’t the only one wearing white jeans to the show.
Got there at 7:45 or so. We were supposed to get there by 7:30. They arranged us into groups (based on where our seats were) and then they brought the “clans” in one by one. So, I got to my seat just fine. Benches had cushions, but my short legs did not comfortable reach the floor. I did a lot of shifting and tried not to be annoying. Not sure how successful I was at that.
So, they led us through these huge doors and then we were basically walking through the set. I was amazing!!! There was this thin path with paving stones and dirt on either side. It was quite dark in that area, but I noticed a skinny woman dressed in black and then two more! Score. I found the first three members of the cast. The Wyrd Sisters were fantastic. Might have been my favorite bit of the play.
So, we go through this barren area and then up into bleachers and we can look down and see the set. There’s dirt in the middle and an altar at one end and a mini-stonehenge thing at the other. The Wyrd sisters came on first. They were great with very odd voices and somehow they seemed to be levitating. They must have had their feet pressed up against the columns.
Then I think there was fighting. There was a LOT of fighting. It gets kind of tedious, actually, but that’s Shakespeare fault.
I thought Kenneth Branagh was kind of weak, to be honest. I mean, he was fine, but not like I’ve seen him in other things. He definitely brought it at the end. Alex Kingston, on the other hand, was fucking amazing. She just got better and better. I got very distracted at the beginning because the ground was muddy and she kept walking in it and getting her beautiful dresses all muddy. Boo. (Talked to one of the actors, not sure which, after and asked about it. He was confused, but told me there were like 15 costumers for the the production. Seems impressive to me. The production was huge too. Lots and lots of people in it.)
Anyhow, the play ran for two solid hours, I think. I never checked the time, although I wanted to a couple times, but had no good way of doing it not on my phone.
The famous monologues happened and when Branagh did the one we all had to memorize in high school (time creep by in its petty pace,..... all the world’s a stage..), I was struck by how I had had no understanding of it before. He really made that pregnant with meaning.
There were a lot of humorous moments in the play and the cast did a great job with them. The porter was quite funny and people loved the double entendre.
Alex Kingston’s last scene is the washing of the bloody hands and she was up on a balcony thing and she really knocked it out of the park. They got a standing ovation and came out three times.
After, I waited inside for a while, then I went outside. The great thing about waiting outside was that I got to talk to the 13 year old boy who was in the production, and the bagpiper (yes, a real live bagpiper), and this other actor who I’m not sure who he was. I told them all I thought the play was great and I enjoyed what they did. Then I went back in when I heard some people with British accents leaving. I asked if Alexander Vlahos was around and a young lady lead me to him. I helped someone get a photo and the someone else did a selfie with him and then he mentioned getting pizza because he was really hungry and I said I was a big fan of all his work.
He said, “all”? He seemed very surprised. I said, “well, not all because I haven’t watched “Truth or Die”? and he said, “Don’t, it’s terrible” but I told him I fell in love with him as Mordred, and loved Privates and Confessions of Dorian Gray and he said he was going to be recording as soon as he got back and then I asked him to talk a selfie with me. He suggested his arms were longer, I suggested his eyes were better. We did some talking over each other, in a friendly kind of way. So, he snapped the picture and was on his way. He was very sweet and I didn’t stutter (too much) or babble too much, or act like a freak, so I was proud of myself and it was an amazing time.
I am so glad I came and created this experience for myself.
One bummer about the play (for me) was that I had a hard time hearing everything clearly. Pretty sure this is me, not the production. Damn it. I wish my hearing was *that* much better. I missed a few key lines/words because of this.
So, yeah. I think that’s it. I’m not posting the selfie. It’s terrible quality. It was taken indoors with low light, but it’s a nice reminder that I got Alex to put his arm around me and take a selfie with my phone :D
And now it's 12:30 and I should try to go to sleep. Especially given the lack of sleep from last night. I don't know why I woke up so damn early this morning.
This entry was originally posted at http://jelazakazone.dreamwidth.org/815479.html. Feel free to comment here or there.