On the last stretch!
I can't tell you how good it felt to hand in my seminar essay and know that I only have a practicum report and final exam to write. Don't get me wrong, both of those tasks (especially the exam) will involve quite a lot of work... but it means I'm almost done school!!!
So, I promised reviews for the three shows I saw in Toronto. For the sake of political correctness, I'll be pretty vague. (I know, it's not like me to be politically correct with regards to my opinions about theatre... so if you want the full story, call me and we'll go out for coffee.)
American Buffalo - Soulpepper Theatre - Fantastically detailled (i.e. cluttered) set; solid acting; reminded me of a Coen brothers movie.
L'Avare - Théâtre Français de Toronto - Incredibly two-tiered (and raked) set; beautiful costumes mixing eras; the actors were great but I often had trouble hearing what they were saying (Rhythm/articulation issues? I was sitting in the back row? They were playing Molière for the comedy instead of letting the words do their job?-- not sure)
Lord of the Rings - Mirvish Production - I was fortunate enough to be sitting 14 rows back from the stage, slightly left of centre. It was a fantastic seat for, what I must admit is, a fantastic show. I knew going in that it would be impossible for them to really cram all of the info from the three books into one 3.5 hour show, but I thought they did a pretty decent job with the cuts. The lines themselves are not quite polished yet, which in my opinion makes some of the best canadian actors on that stage look silly. Neverthelesss, the millions of dollars they spent on the project was well spent. The effects are spectacular, but luckily they are also theatrical as well. it's not all about the technology. My one major gripe is that they use these long poles to create heigh and break-up the space, but they use various different types of poles in every second scene. By the time the King was crowned, I was about ready to shove a pole somewhere rude. A little repetitious. Otherwise, I left the show with a smile on my face and having not seem the time go by.
Well now that I have continued my procrastination to this point, I should get off the computer and exercise a bit. Sitting in a rehearsal hall for five hours a day is doing nothing for my hips.
So, I promised reviews for the three shows I saw in Toronto. For the sake of political correctness, I'll be pretty vague. (I know, it's not like me to be politically correct with regards to my opinions about theatre... so if you want the full story, call me and we'll go out for coffee.)
American Buffalo - Soulpepper Theatre - Fantastically detailled (i.e. cluttered) set; solid acting; reminded me of a Coen brothers movie.
L'Avare - Théâtre Français de Toronto - Incredibly two-tiered (and raked) set; beautiful costumes mixing eras; the actors were great but I often had trouble hearing what they were saying (Rhythm/articulation issues? I was sitting in the back row? They were playing Molière for the comedy instead of letting the words do their job?-- not sure)
Lord of the Rings - Mirvish Production - I was fortunate enough to be sitting 14 rows back from the stage, slightly left of centre. It was a fantastic seat for, what I must admit is, a fantastic show. I knew going in that it would be impossible for them to really cram all of the info from the three books into one 3.5 hour show, but I thought they did a pretty decent job with the cuts. The lines themselves are not quite polished yet, which in my opinion makes some of the best canadian actors on that stage look silly. Neverthelesss, the millions of dollars they spent on the project was well spent. The effects are spectacular, but luckily they are also theatrical as well. it's not all about the technology. My one major gripe is that they use these long poles to create heigh and break-up the space, but they use various different types of poles in every second scene. By the time the King was crowned, I was about ready to shove a pole somewhere rude. A little repetitious. Otherwise, I left the show with a smile on my face and having not seem the time go by.
Well now that I have continued my procrastination to this point, I should get off the computer and exercise a bit. Sitting in a rehearsal hall for five hours a day is doing nothing for my hips.
posted by Natalie Joy @ 5/01/2006 08:21:00 AM
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