the children's hour.
OK, so I've been thinking about this post nearly all day, because for whatever reason it's really important to me that I get it right.
Possibly the best way to get onto the main topic is to mention my drama exam - which went all right, I think! I remembered all my lines and had a great discussion with my examiner, so fingers crossed that I've done well! We spent most of the time discussing my third piece, which I adapted from the play The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman. It's been one of my favourite plays for the last couple of years, and I've been thinking about it a lot recently. So basically this post is going to be me rambling about my favourite play. OK?
There are probably spoilers under the cut, so if you haven't read the play (if you haven't, you must read it right away; it's amazing!) and don't want to be spoiled don't click. But it's been in print for like 70 years so you really should have read it by now!! Or seen the film!
From the film - I think bast2 might be interested to know that her favourite girl Veronica Cartwright was in this and played Rosalie! And was really good too!
Premise (ganked from the website of the Royal Exchange Theatre): Karen Wright and Martha Dobie have worked for years to establish their all-girls boarding school, and now, with the school flourishing and Karen on the verge of marriage, their lives and loves finally appear secure. However, when malicious student Mary runs away from the school and seeks to avoid being sent back, she draws on hearsay, gossip, and her own imagination, to concoct a story that threatens the school, the marriage, and their entire futures.
OK, so I first saw this play two years ago at the theatre. I was originally going to do research for another part (Tulip, in an adaptation of The Tulip Touch - and now I think about it, this book was really, really gay :D) and so I went to look and see how Mary was played. I hadn't read the play beforehand, which in retrospect was a good thing as it meant that the end was a surprise. Not only was the play amazingly acted, it was brilliantly staged too - some of the design and choreography of the scene changes was gorgeous (if you'd like to know more about the set design just ask :D). I sat through the first and second acts and loved them, but it was the third one that was the best. I actually remember not being able to physically move after it ended, and then when the pure brilliance of it had sunk in I just wanted to cry and cry.
I've read the actual play more times than I can count now, and I still feel exactly the same, even though I know what's coming - and perhaps that makes it worse, I don't know. And I still cry about it.
But I went back to school and told my teacher that she had to let me play Martha. I can't describe to you how much I wanted it! There's very few characters that I feel a real affinity with (slightly unnervingly, they all tend to have some kind of mental illness or be depressed or something bad happens to them. I'm not a very good comedic actor, to be honest!) and I just clicked with this character. Possibly because of my own experiences, but that's neither here nor there.
(For the record, it was one of the best plays I've ever seen performed and I so wish they sold DVD copies of them or something, because I would have bought one. Here's the actual site, plus reviews. And tangiental side note: the woman who played Karen, Maxine Peake, apparently played Myra Hindley in a film about the Moors Murders. I didn't know this until a few days ago and I now realise that she looks so much like Myra, it's frightening. And now I've seen it, I can't unsee it, dammit!)
Anyway, after all that longwindedness, onto the actual storyline! In case you haven't already guessed, the story that Mary concocts is that Karen and Marth are having a lesbian affair. In 1934 that was still seen as a perversion.
Despite the kind of melodrama of the whole story and the reactions of the characters (and even the characters themselves, especially Aunt Lily), it is really incredibly believable. I think plays are so hard to get just right - at least for me - since in a lot of ways you just get the bare bones of the characters and it's the director and actors' jobs to flesh them out. But in this case, even with a few words and stage directions, you kind of seep into the story and the mindset of the characters. It's why the third act is especially hard for me to read, since I can understand the emotions, especially Martha's. I've read it so many times that I can identify now where the play changes in tone, where the kind of ominous aspect comes in. And I can't read it without thinking about my own lines (I adapted one of the last Karen/Martha scenes into a monologue) and sometimes I like to say them out loud.
And the final line, oh, the final line. It is so simple, it's one word, but it just has so much depth and so much reality and there's an emptiness. I can't even explain it - it's something to do with the fact that that one word just ties together the whole play.
I actually think that this is better than Brokeback Mountain, which I did enjoy, especially since it was first performed in 1934. It was so incredibly groundbreaking.
You weren't even allowed to mention homosexuality on stage, it was still believed to be a mental illness, and so the play was hugely controversial. But despite that it ran for two years, and in 1961 they made a film with Audrey Hepburn (who I think kinda looks like a cross between Jordana Brewster and Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Shirley MacLaine (apparently it is her birthday today! Coincidence!). The picture above is a still from the film.
Now, the film. I have conflicted feelings about this film. On the one hand, it has kept, on the whole, very close to the actual words of the play. There are two things that I feel strongly about in the way that they structured it, though. Some of Karen's essential character development was missed out on and the film could have had so much more depth if they'd kept to the play structure. And at times it does sway too much towards melodrama, especially at the end - the histrionics get a bit over the top and I don't like that. (When I play Martha I play her very differently.) If you compare the play to the film, although there is drama in the play too, it comes across as more serene, if that makes sense. Sort of quietly angsty and quite lovely.
But where there is subtlety in the film, it is beautiful. When they let Shirley and Audrey do the acting with their eyes and expressions and not their mouths it is amazing. And in order to show you this, I have combed YouTube in search of good videos.
This is my favourite. It's a Martha tribute, but tells the overarch of the storyline perfectly. And the editing is lovely too. Also, Breathe Me by Sia is one of my favourite songs ever. I've been listening to it on repeat lately.
If you'd like to avoid spoilers stop watching at the four minute mark :)
(When I watch this video Mary always reminds me of the child in The Bad Seed, Rhoda Penmark. Except Rhoda was a real little psychopath, and personally I think Mary's just really manipulative and vindictive.)
Two others:
+Another one to Breathe Me (to avoid spoiling yourself for the ending, don't watch past 3.20)
+Hometown Glory (no real way of avoiding spoilers in this one because of the voiceovers. Lovely song though)
(If you'd like a download of either of these songs just drop me a comment and I'll upload them for you :D)
And a fic rec! There's so little in this fandom, but twistomatic wrote an amazing one.
she never meant a thing to me || her fanfiction index
OK, so I'm sure I've bored you all to death now, so I'm going to stop there. In sum, definitely read the play and give the film a go. Personally I think this play is one of the most important and pivotal in recent history because it really highlights the prejudice that gay people go through. And not only that, it's the whole theme of how lying can completely destroy someone. I think that's important.
Anyway, I'm desperate to talk to someone about this play, so if you've read it or seen the film and would like to chat, please let me know! I think my mum and drama teacher and friends are sick of me going on about it all the time :)
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings or at least didn't find them insanely boring ♥
Possibly the best way to get onto the main topic is to mention my drama exam - which went all right, I think! I remembered all my lines and had a great discussion with my examiner, so fingers crossed that I've done well! We spent most of the time discussing my third piece, which I adapted from the play The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman. It's been one of my favourite plays for the last couple of years, and I've been thinking about it a lot recently. So basically this post is going to be me rambling about my favourite play. OK?
There are probably spoilers under the cut, so if you haven't read the play (if you haven't, you must read it right away; it's amazing!) and don't want to be spoiled don't click. But it's been in print for like 70 years so you really should have read it by now!! Or seen the film!
From the film - I think bast2 might be interested to know that her favourite girl Veronica Cartwright was in this and played Rosalie! And was really good too!
Premise (ganked from the website of the Royal Exchange Theatre): Karen Wright and Martha Dobie have worked for years to establish their all-girls boarding school, and now, with the school flourishing and Karen on the verge of marriage, their lives and loves finally appear secure. However, when malicious student Mary runs away from the school and seeks to avoid being sent back, she draws on hearsay, gossip, and her own imagination, to concoct a story that threatens the school, the marriage, and their entire futures.
OK, so I first saw this play two years ago at the theatre. I was originally going to do research for another part (Tulip, in an adaptation of The Tulip Touch - and now I think about it, this book was really, really gay :D) and so I went to look and see how Mary was played. I hadn't read the play beforehand, which in retrospect was a good thing as it meant that the end was a surprise. Not only was the play amazingly acted, it was brilliantly staged too - some of the design and choreography of the scene changes was gorgeous (if you'd like to know more about the set design just ask :D). I sat through the first and second acts and loved them, but it was the third one that was the best. I actually remember not being able to physically move after it ended, and then when the pure brilliance of it had sunk in I just wanted to cry and cry.
I've read the actual play more times than I can count now, and I still feel exactly the same, even though I know what's coming - and perhaps that makes it worse, I don't know. And I still cry about it.
But I went back to school and told my teacher that she had to let me play Martha. I can't describe to you how much I wanted it! There's very few characters that I feel a real affinity with (slightly unnervingly, they all tend to have some kind of mental illness or be depressed or something bad happens to them. I'm not a very good comedic actor, to be honest!) and I just clicked with this character. Possibly because of my own experiences, but that's neither here nor there.
(For the record, it was one of the best plays I've ever seen performed and I so wish they sold DVD copies of them or something, because I would have bought one. Here's the actual site, plus reviews. And tangiental side note: the woman who played Karen, Maxine Peake, apparently played Myra Hindley in a film about the Moors Murders. I didn't know this until a few days ago and I now realise that she looks so much like Myra, it's frightening. And now I've seen it, I can't unsee it, dammit!)
Anyway, after all that longwindedness, onto the actual storyline! In case you haven't already guessed, the story that Mary concocts is that Karen and Marth are having a lesbian affair. In 1934 that was still seen as a perversion.
Despite the kind of melodrama of the whole story and the reactions of the characters (and even the characters themselves, especially Aunt Lily), it is really incredibly believable. I think plays are so hard to get just right - at least for me - since in a lot of ways you just get the bare bones of the characters and it's the director and actors' jobs to flesh them out. But in this case, even with a few words and stage directions, you kind of seep into the story and the mindset of the characters. It's why the third act is especially hard for me to read, since I can understand the emotions, especially Martha's. I've read it so many times that I can identify now where the play changes in tone, where the kind of ominous aspect comes in. And I can't read it without thinking about my own lines (I adapted one of the last Karen/Martha scenes into a monologue) and sometimes I like to say them out loud.
And the final line, oh, the final line. It is so simple, it's one word, but it just has so much depth and so much reality and there's an emptiness. I can't even explain it - it's something to do with the fact that that one word just ties together the whole play.
I actually think that this is better than Brokeback Mountain, which I did enjoy, especially since it was first performed in 1934. It was so incredibly groundbreaking.
You weren't even allowed to mention homosexuality on stage, it was still believed to be a mental illness, and so the play was hugely controversial. But despite that it ran for two years, and in 1961 they made a film with Audrey Hepburn (who I think kinda looks like a cross between Jordana Brewster and Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Shirley MacLaine (apparently it is her birthday today! Coincidence!). The picture above is a still from the film.
Now, the film. I have conflicted feelings about this film. On the one hand, it has kept, on the whole, very close to the actual words of the play. There are two things that I feel strongly about in the way that they structured it, though. Some of Karen's essential character development was missed out on and the film could have had so much more depth if they'd kept to the play structure. And at times it does sway too much towards melodrama, especially at the end - the histrionics get a bit over the top and I don't like that. (When I play Martha I play her very differently.) If you compare the play to the film, although there is drama in the play too, it comes across as more serene, if that makes sense. Sort of quietly angsty and quite lovely.
But where there is subtlety in the film, it is beautiful. When they let Shirley and Audrey do the acting with their eyes and expressions and not their mouths it is amazing. And in order to show you this, I have combed YouTube in search of good videos.
This is my favourite. It's a Martha tribute, but tells the overarch of the storyline perfectly. And the editing is lovely too. Also, Breathe Me by Sia is one of my favourite songs ever. I've been listening to it on repeat lately.
Click to viewIf you'd like to avoid spoilers stop watching at the four minute mark :)
(When I watch this video Mary always reminds me of the child in The Bad Seed, Rhoda Penmark. Except Rhoda was a real little psychopath, and personally I think Mary's just really manipulative and vindictive.)
Two others:
+Another one to Breathe Me (to avoid spoiling yourself for the ending, don't watch past 3.20)
+Hometown Glory (no real way of avoiding spoilers in this one because of the voiceovers. Lovely song though)
(If you'd like a download of either of these songs just drop me a comment and I'll upload them for you :D)
And a fic rec! There's so little in this fandom, but twistomatic wrote an amazing one.
she never meant a thing to me || her fanfiction index
OK, so I'm sure I've bored you all to death now, so I'm going to stop there. In sum, definitely read the play and give the film a go. Personally I think this play is one of the most important and pivotal in recent history because it really highlights the prejudice that gay people go through. And not only that, it's the whole theme of how lying can completely destroy someone. I think that's important.
Anyway, I'm desperate to talk to someone about this play, so if you've read it or seen the film and would like to chat, please let me know! I think my mum and drama teacher and friends are sick of me going on about it all the time :)
Hope you enjoyed my ramblings or at least didn't find them insanely boring ♥