A Prayer for my Daughter
I went to the theatre last night for the first time in a while. Well late last year I went to see Masque of the Red Death which was truly wonderful, but its been a good while since I saw a PLAY, and even longer since I saw a contemporary play. Well "A Prayer For My Daughter" wasn't quite contemporary, being set in the 70s, but it definitely was a far cry from all the Shakespeare I saw in the last couple of years. I really enjoyed it, despite the dialogue being occasionally clunky and the broad conceits being somewhat awkward, mainly because it was good to feel the immediacy of the theatre once more. And a play that could only be a play, not a film and not a book. I kept thinking of something some actor (Ed Harris maybe?) said in an old issue of Interview I was reading this week, that films often forget actors have bodies, so often showing only the waist up or just the face. Last night I really engaged with the bodies on stage, especially because of the seat I had and because it was a traverse stage, meaning the actors often had their backs to me (most annoyingly when the cute guy got naked and I wished I was on the other side so much). It was good to be reminded of people as a full moving entity like this. I have resolved to attend more, feeling better about taking some risks and seeing smaller productions whose shortcomings won't neccessarily limit my engagement. As I say, "A Prayer..." wasn't perfect but it got me thinking, got me stimulated and excited and feeling like my old self again.
It was something of a "mood" piece, the mood being that of a downtown police station in NY on Independence Day, a mood that the set and lighting designer captured really well. I totally bought the sweaty restlessness of a long midsummer day, despite it being near freezing outside. The play is a four-hander and structured around laborious questioning which never finds answers, punctuated by an impatient ringing phone. Everyone was confused and struggling to figure things out, to get some peace, to cool off and feel calm and content. The acting was great overall. One guy wasn't so good and didnt seem to quite get a grip on his character - the philosophising queer career criminal. He was supposed to have power over this wriggly skinny smack addict, but he didn't quite convince me. Any other issues I had with performances seemed to stem from the dialogue itself, which was sometimes rather awkward and difficult for any actor to deliver.
I'm still trying to fully figure out what the whole "daughter" motif meant, and found it often a frustrating and clunky intrusion into action that was at times sharply observed and sharp. Those involved in the production didnt seem to be able to resolve the problem of how to handle the literariness of the script, to weave it into a play that often poses as a rather more conventional crime thriller. This failure didn't hamper my enjoyment entirely, especially as they were disciplined enough to keep the running time under two hours. So overall: often frustrating and awkward, but engaging. Seen as this has turned into a review, I'd give it 3 and a half stars.
I felt rather jealous of the people in the really nice bar afterwards, wishing I had made someone go with me so I could share a beer and have a chat about the play. Theatre buddies must be sought. I must cajole and bully people some more into going. Having said that there was a quiet comfort in sitting alone on the bus cruising through the city, my thoughts to myself, and having spent the play not worrying about if the other person was enjoying it.
It was something of a "mood" piece, the mood being that of a downtown police station in NY on Independence Day, a mood that the set and lighting designer captured really well. I totally bought the sweaty restlessness of a long midsummer day, despite it being near freezing outside. The play is a four-hander and structured around laborious questioning which never finds answers, punctuated by an impatient ringing phone. Everyone was confused and struggling to figure things out, to get some peace, to cool off and feel calm and content. The acting was great overall. One guy wasn't so good and didnt seem to quite get a grip on his character - the philosophising queer career criminal. He was supposed to have power over this wriggly skinny smack addict, but he didn't quite convince me. Any other issues I had with performances seemed to stem from the dialogue itself, which was sometimes rather awkward and difficult for any actor to deliver.
I'm still trying to fully figure out what the whole "daughter" motif meant, and found it often a frustrating and clunky intrusion into action that was at times sharply observed and sharp. Those involved in the production didnt seem to be able to resolve the problem of how to handle the literariness of the script, to weave it into a play that often poses as a rather more conventional crime thriller. This failure didn't hamper my enjoyment entirely, especially as they were disciplined enough to keep the running time under two hours. So overall: often frustrating and awkward, but engaging. Seen as this has turned into a review, I'd give it 3 and a half stars.
I felt rather jealous of the people in the really nice bar afterwards, wishing I had made someone go with me so I could share a beer and have a chat about the play. Theatre buddies must be sought. I must cajole and bully people some more into going. Having said that there was a quiet comfort in sitting alone on the bus cruising through the city, my thoughts to myself, and having spent the play not worrying about if the other person was enjoying it.