We know we are looking at a set, at an actor; but we allow ourselves to see the setting, the character...

A LITTLE BIT INTO BAKKHAI

Pentheus being ripped off by the wild women

Before getting into the new version of BAKKHAI by Anne Carson, I'd like to go back in time, a few years ago, maybe a few centuries and bring if not the essence, but some of the aspects that make this last play by Euripides one of the most acclaimed.

BAKKHAI was Euripides last work for the stage and it was performed in Athens a long, long time ago, at about 405 BC.

BAKKHAI shows the two opposite sides of man's nature: the rational and civiliced side, which takes part in men's decisions but also the instinctive side which can be useful at taking decisions sometimes (and why not, it is, really...but only sometimes)

One thing that gives BAKKHAI a distinctive position among all the greek plays is the fact that the chorus is integrated into the plot and the God is not a distant presence, because he is one of the characters, he is, without doubt, the protagonist.

ECSTASY, TERROR, BACCHAE

1. There comes Dionysius, telling the story of his life and how he is the son of Zeus and Semele, though the citizens don't believe he's a God, specially Semele's sisters . He has disguised as a mortal and has led all the Thebes women into the mountains to observe his ritual festivities. All the women have become mad.

2. An all-female chorus takes part as soon as Dionysius leave the stage, singing and dancing. Ans they will be a presence in the entire play.

3. The dionysian feasts are taking place, Cadmus and Tiresias seem to join it, when Pentheus, the Thebes king, appears and intends to capture everyone, Dionysius included (who he doesn't recognise as the God is dressed up). Pentheus is against these feasts.

4. Later a sheperd comes down from the mountains and reports that he found women up on the hills behaving in a strange way. Pentheus wasn't sure about that fact, now he knows more about what's going on with Thebes women.

5. Pentheus gets angry and intends to kill all the women, but Dionysus persuades him to disguise as a woman and observe what's happening. Of course, Pentheus doesn't realise that the man (or semi-human) giving the advice is not other than Dionysus.

6. Pentheus, the Thebes king, agrees and dressed up as a woman climbs the mountain. The king, being betrayed by the same Dionysus, is captured by the wild women who confuse him with a lion.

7. Pentheus is killed by all the women, including his mother Agave. Agave, the woman whose womb carried Pentheus once, is the one who carries his son's head down to the city as a trophy.

8. Everything is misfortune for the royal family, now broken into pieces. Agave gets mad while trying to reassemble Pentheus' corp together. Now her son is dead, she killed him.

9. Dionysus' revenge has taken place. Nobody will question his divinity anymore!!!

 "A great part of the thrill of BAKKHAI is its unusual self-reflectiveness: the 'meta' quality of its reflections on how the theatre works. All of us, when we attend the theatre, are seeing double-seeing, as Pentheus does under Dionysus' spell, 'two suns, two cities og Thebes'. we know we are looking at a set, at an actor; but we allow ourselves to see the setting, the character" (Bakkhae: Ectasy and Terror. D. Mendelsohn, 2014)

JUST LET THE PLANE TAKE OFF, AND LET IT FLY HIGH

ALMEIDA GREEKS (Almeida Theatre, London)

This morning I got up and I had the beautiful soundtrack of this trailer for the three ALMEIDA GREEKS in my head so I thought, let's post about BAKKHAI in the afternoon!!!

And so will be!!!

There will only be good words for such an inspiring play writen by Euripides.

JUST LET THE PLANE TAKE OFF, AND LET IT FLY HIGH

Every mom is proud of their children

'BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH IS A BLOODY GOOD HAMLET'- says mom

I couldn't go to bye-byes without sharing this news referring to how proud a mum can be of her child, specially if he's a star like BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH. And, of course, he is playing one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, the one which Sir Laurence Olivier played long time ago!!!

"He is a bloody good Hamlet". And why not? I had the chance to see him in the Barbican, and YES, for all saints, he is stunning. I hope one day my mum says the same...

"A BLOODY GOOD HAMLET" SAYS THE PROUD MOM!!!

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/aug/26/benedict-cumberbatch-is-a-bloody-good-hamlet-says-his-mum

More stuff about Hamlet played by Benedict Cumberbatch (Barbican Theatre, London) in future posts. 

JUST LET THE PLANE TAKE OFF, AND LET IT FLY HIGH

Playing 1984

CHALLENGES OF PLAYING 1984

As a future actress (an actress in progress...) I dare to say that playing on stage is not easy at all. You need concentration more than anything at all; you need to be with your partner, listening to everything he/she gives you and, of course, you have to be with the audience. For all these reasons, being an actor is as hard as other professions in the world. IT'S NOT AN EASY JOB!!!

So, I'd say that playing 1984 requires all these competences. But of course, the most difficult task for an actor in this field is the combination of both playing on stage and being filmed at the same time. BUT WHY? BECAUSE there is nothing more annoying than shifting from one code (the theatre one) to another (the filming/cinema one).

Being on stage requires a different presence, more expression as people from the last row want to enjoy the play as those lucky ones in the first row. The actor's body needs to be more active, a little bit more than in real life. That's not a big problem but....what happens when your character is being filmed and your face appears on a big screen at the same time you're kissing the woman of your dreams in your own room? Here the actor has to face the challenge!!! 

Changing easily from a big amount of energy to a little bit less is terribly hard. Now the expression is in the eyes but not entirely in the body. And this is a great challenge, for sure it is!! We also have to add all the hectic environment, the noises that bring a total paranoia in room 101. 

Here I can say that Matthew Spencer, and of course the rest of the cast, but specially him and his female partner, face this challenge with sublime perfection!!! WELL DONE!!! 

 

Matthew Spencer as Winston Smith

1984 Playhouse Theatre, London.

'GIVE ME A 1 FOR 1984'

AT THE PLAYHOUSE THEATRE (LONDON)

When I got up this morning I thought, 'WHY NOT STARTING WITH HAMLET, STARRING BENEDICT CUMBERBACH AT THE BARBICAN? Then I realised that I want to leave that post for another time, when I feel more confident in this new blogger world.

So here I come with a fantastic play based on the novel by the same name: 1984 (by the talented and famous writer George Orwell). I'll try to answer some questions that could be of interest in case you're in London (the city by the Thames river, the 'land of dreams', the 'field of poetry', the grass where Shakespeare spread his ink with tender and passion) and you're thinking about watching it or you're not in the city yet but you'd like to spend a weekend as a Theatre Alcoholic. 

• Why did I watch this play? 

When I go to a play, where I'll be spending two or more hours of my life, I always make this question to myself. 

Well, in this case, the answer is simple: my lovely and amazing host recommended it to me!!!

That first day in London I was a little bit lost as there are so many places to go and things to do that I found hard to choose something interesting. 

Fortunately, my host, who has become a friend now and who encouraged me to start with this blog, was right. THE PLAY IS SUPERB!!!

So, as a conclusion, I bought a ticket for 1984 because someone recommended it to me. It's something that happens sometimes and it can be worth it. In this case it really was...!!!

What to do in other cases? Of course, in other cases, the best thing to do is to explore the different plays going on and read the reviews. TimeOut (theatre section) is a good page to be sure of that.

http://www.timeout.com/london

• What about the play?

You enter the Playhouse Theatre and some of the lines you read in George Orwell's novel come to your mind. You start thinking about the Big Brother, the opression, the political control and about how the world has changed. Then you sit down and the show starts. You lean forward on your seat and get ready to enjoy the play!!!

A big screen at the top of the stage showing Winston's diary, where he writes his lines. His hands being filmed at the same time he writes 1984 on a piece of paper. Then all the lights turn off and the room where he was on his own becomes crowded...Then the Dystopia starts!!!

The Big Brother controls everything. Each movement, each meeting, each word out of context but it doesn't stop Winston falling in love with Julia, a rebel who wants to DAMN THE BIG BROTHER!!!

The impression of being in two different worlds, in two paralel realities gives you the sense of not being free, of being stuck in the same place all the time, an eye on your shoulder doesn't give up looking at you. A hectic reality, flashbacks, rebelions, repeated situations...all in one play. And GOOSE-BUMPS assured!!!

The walls opening up (showing the reality behind them, the TRUTH maybe), the strong rebelion ( and Winston's torture are so powerful that your eyes will keep wide open  without any doubt. So if you're one of those people who tend to fall asleep in the theatre, you'll not this time. 

Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan did a wonderful job by co-writing and directing this new version of 1984. The combination of playing on stage and in front of a camera which films some of the character's actions makes the audience experience the contradiction of what's real and what's not, let them think about how much the Media takes control in their/our lifes. Even a tender kiss taking place behind the stage wall can be filmed. WHERE IS THE PRIVACY THEN?  

Maybe there's no privacy any more in our lifes. Maybe we're being puppets in the middle of nowhere, being tortured unconsciously, being damaged without an explanation, being controled by the Big Eye. But MAYBE, we can change it!!!

• Information of interest

I didn't want to spoil the play by giving too much information, cause I think you have to experience it by yourselves. I only dare to give you some tips about what you should do in case you'd like to watch it!!!

1. THE NOVEL BY GEORGE ORWELL: If you didn't read the novel yet it's time to do it. It's easier to understand the play. Make it your bedside table book!!! (However you don't need to, but it's a very interesting book)

2. HOW TO GET TO THE PLAYHOUSE THEATRE?: The nearest tube station is Enbankment, but you can also get off at Charing Cross. You can find more details in this link:

http://www.londontown.com/TransportInformation/Entertainment/Playhouse_Theatre/9268/ 

3. THE BEST WAY TO GET TICKETS: I guess that you'd like to watch as much theatre as possible by spending a small amount of money. Here comes my recommendation (there are different ways to get the best tickets):

• Get your ticket in this website: http://www.es.lastminute.com/

     (It's gonna be cheaper. I couldn't manage it cause my credit card       was not working, so that I had to find another way) 

• Go to a box office: you'll find many box offices around Leicester square or Picadilly where you can find bargains (However, I would say there are better options, so leave it for the end, when you start feeling desperate...)

• Go to the Playhouse Theatre and try to get cheap DAY TICKETS or RETURN TICKETS: this is, for sure, the best option. Go to the theatre about half an hour before the show starts and answer for day tickets, they are the best price ones. You'll not spend more than £15 if you succeed. And £15 for a west end show is more than worth it!!! 

The thing is, HOW DID I SUCCEED? Well, I got the tickets in a box office in Leicester Square, so that I spent a little bit more (£22), because I was not into this world yet. If I had known that I could have got day tickets I'd have saved £7.

And here I am, after watching the play!!! 

MÁS FELIZ QUE UNA PERDIZ, as we say in Spanish...

More posts about other plays will come soon. Keep an eye on them!!!

JUST LET THE PLANE TAKE OFF, AND LET IT FLY HIGH

LONDON PLAYS

A LIST OF INTERESTING PLAYS IN LONDON!!!

As I said in my recent post, being a Theatre Alcoholic requires a mixture of COMMITMENT, TIME and LUCK; it's more or less like life which also needs the three of them to be more interesting, isn't it?

Now comes a LIST that contains the plays I had the opportunity to watch during my stay in LONDON, the city by the Thames river, the 'land of dreams', the 'field of poetry', the grass where Shakespeare spread his ink with tender and passion.

THEATRE, THEATRE AND MORE THEATRE!!! 

• 1984 (Playhouse Theatre)
• Hamlet (Barbican Theatre)
• As you like it (Shakespeare's globe)
• Bakkai (Almeida Theatre)
• The trial (Young Vic Theatre)
• The curious incident of the dog in the night-time (Gielgud Theatre)
• War Horse (New London Theatre)

Three plays of interest at the National Theatre:

• Three days in the country (Lyttelton Theatre)
• Everyman (Olivier Theatre)
• The red lion (Dorfman Theatre)

If you want to know more about all the shows going on right now, you should have a look at TimeOut. Here I leave the link in case you'd like to have a look. Enjoy it!!!

http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre

Further information about each play will be provided in next posts. 

Pay attention to it!!!

JUST LET THE PLANE TAKE OFF AND LET IT FLY HIGH