May 2nd, 2006
Blast! Missed the bus! [this paragraph started at 8:15 this morning] Well they say every cloud has a silver lining–unless you’re blinded by the sun: you can’t see it–so now I have a little time to write about bank holiday weekend. I actually managed to tot up three plays in two days, House Guest (Francis Durbridge) on Friday, Liar (Gregory Burke) and Spider Men (Ursula Rani Sarma) on Saturday. The former was with family, the latter were part of Theatre Studies AS and were seen collectively by the drama groups at college.
Well executed, but lacklustre plot. While a story relying on a banal observance worked for Hitchcock, it’s getting to be a bit of a worn-shoe and nowadays just seems like a lack of consideration on the writer’s part.
Amalgamated under one title as they share the theme of “teenage life”. Predictably so, as they form part of a business-outreach program called Shell Connections that commissions “at least 10 new plays every year, penned by some of the hottest talent in world theatre” targeted at young performers. It’s a win-win situation: an oil, petrols and petrochemicals company gets some street cred and we get plays.
Unfortunately targeted at youth seems synonymous with plays written about modern-day youth targeted at youth. Spider Men was a character driven piece (aren’t they all?) about an estranged teenager who went to hide in the woods as a way of trying to win respect from his parents. The acting was actually very good in some places, but the subject matter didn’t really resound with me at all: the “real life” bits just seemed trite.
Liar however at least portrayed teenage life comically; positively revelling in the stereotypes. Though so much for new ideas–the scene transitions were ripped straight off The History Boys. Perhaps I’m being overly critical, but I suppose I was expecting a little more.
I ultimately think introducing theatre of any kind is beneficial to young people. It allows them–us–to explore feelings and emotions, while creating new relationships through the camaraderie of being part of a company…
…and really it’s ironic how pretending to be different brings us closer together in understanding who people really are.
Realistic ending: …but really the scripts just seemed a hollow reminder of some of the shit I saw when I was going through the years in my old Comprehensive. There was a character in Spider Men who was a bit of a dreamer. In the play he was considered a likeable oddity, in real life he would have been ostracised. In Liar the whole social spectrum was brought together–from Goths to Geeks and Chavs. By alcohol.
The History Boys can get away with wallowing in an age, nostalgia does that, but for modern day plays I can’t be so forgiving. While exploring emotions is important, theatre’s real power lies with its ability to influence and change for the better. Until you can say you are happy with today’s society, you can’t afford to indulge yourselves in plays like this; however tempting it is to just to recognise how things already are.