There are three plays this fall, The Tempest, Art, and The Mousetrap. In my opinion, they were all excellent. I liked them all for very different reasons.
The Tempest: This is certainly not my favorite of Shakespeare's plays. I don't really identify with any of the characters, and I don't find the play compelling. In the play, Prospero and his daughter have been stranded on a desert island for 12 years because his brother usurps him as the Duke and sets them adrift in a boat. Ariel, a wind spirit, does his bidding, and Caliban, a beastly half-human, grudgingly serves Prospero also. When Prospero finds out his brother is on a ship, he arranges to "shipwreck" him and everyone else on the ship. In the course of two days, he arranges the marriage of Miranda and the Prince of Naples, torments the people who sent him adrift until they feel very guilty, and arranges to become the Duke again and return to Milan.
Despite not loving the play script, I thought the performances were phenomenal and the interpretation was very interesting. They visually compare Prospero to Leonardo da Vinci by including his writings and drawings on Prospero's coat and Ariel's wings were designed to look like something da Vinci created. The idea is both were very close to being more than human. Caliban was very animalistic, the best I've seen. I also loved Chris Mixon as Trinculo, the jester. He stole the stage any time he was on. It was the best production of The Tempest that I've seen, though I still don't like the play that much.
Art: Nate really didn't like this play because he doesn't enjoy watching people argue. I, however, enjoyed the play. It was the one I was most looking forward to seeing because it's won several awards and it was playing both times that I was in London, though I didn't have the chance to see it. The story is simple: Serge buys a painting that is white on white, his friend Marc thinks he's insane to do it, and their friend Yvan gets caught in the middle. Basically, the whole play is a series of conversations, not just about art, but also about friendship and what keeps us together or tears us apart.
It reminded me a lot of a Tom Stoppard play because watching the play required a lot of intellectual work. However, I appreciated hearing the different arguments and having them come to some sort of resolution. And the performances were extremely good.
The Mousetrap: This is a classic Agatha Christie whodunit play. I've seen it a couple of times before and actually remembered whodunit, but I still enjoyed the journey. It's a fun play . . . something easy on the eyes and the mind.
Despite heavy rain on Saturday, we really enjoyed the plays. And I highly recommend them all.
1 comment:
And did she mention that I didn't really like ART? Watching 90 minutes worth of 3 guys arguing.... not my style.
However, I did really enjoy the Tempest and the Mousetrap. I even figured out who did it.
Nate
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