Sunday, March 29, 2009
Lunacy
Notice a modest correspondance in the TLS about the quality of the CUP edition of Beckett's letters, as a peice of book production that is, rather than the quality of the thing as a whole, taken in the round as it were. Opinions are divided. Knowing nothing of the book and next to nothing of Beckett, my half penny worth (halfpennuth?) is that, in my limited experience of such matters, CUP books are not as pretty as OUP ones. The latter put more effort into paper, layout and so-forth. Their productions are usually pleasing, although it is quite possible they are not as cheap as those of their rivals. Never thought of either house as being cheap and not sure about their relativities.
Yesterday, despite no moon being visible (it was close to the night of no-moon for March), to 'Dancing at Lunacy' at the Old Vic. Spelt Lughnasa for those from the Gaeltacht. Started the evening badly, learning that Wimbledon Station had been taken out of service for most of the weekend, thereby stuffing all the trains to Waterloo from our part of the world. As it turned out this was not a big deal, connections at strange parts of Clapham Junction Station working well. Although tiresome neighbours on both trains on the way home. In the first, two nine or ten year old boys (this being at 2230 mind you) who were a bit overtired or overexcited or both and who thought that it was cool to carry on a childishly coarse conversation for the duration. F-words and S-words everywhere. They smelt of escape for the evening from very proper homes. Should I have pulled them up? In the second, we had a posse of twenty or thirty year old boys who had clearly been on the booze all day. They may have been to the footer. One of them drivelled all the way from Clapham Junction to Epsom. Not coarse or even loud; just common or garden drivel. But half an hour of it did become very tiresome. The patience of even his companions was wearing thin by the time we got off.
But before that, interesting evening at the Old Vic. First discovery was that it had become the New Vic, in the sense that the auditorium has been remodelled since we were last there. The long old auditorium with its massive proscenium arch is now theatre up front and personal in the round. What was the front of the auditorium is now the stage, what was the stage has been converted into auditorium and the back of the old auditorium is a bar. Not qualified to comment on the theatrical qualities of theatre in the round - although it seemed to me to have pluses and minuses. Some things worked well and some things not so well - I did not like the very visible corruption of the original design. Like in one of those clubs in a converted cinema, one is all too aware of what went before. What brought this conversion on?
Second discovery was that Lunacy was the shortened form of the name for a sort of harvest festival, pagan in origin. I had assumed that it was the name of a place. This Irish writer was clearly interested in the grip of the church on the land, and on the antecedants to that grip. He was also a prolific chap with thirty plays and adaptions listed.
Third discovery was that it was a ladies play, but one of interest to gents. as well. Rather good in fact. Reminded that life in the country in the olden days could be pretty grim, despite the big bits of fun poking out from time to time. Not wot like you would think from a diet of heritage soaps at all. I thought that most of the cast did well, some of them reminding me of people I know quite well. Hon. menches. for Niamh Cusack as Maggie and Finbar Lynch as Jack. The former made ample use of that strange (and only) exemption in the smoking laws to smoke several wild woodbines on stage. Probably not too happy with the overpaid adminstrative staff who managed get her sister's, rather than her, name on the outside of the very glossy and expensive (£4) programme. Me not too happy with Peter MacDonald as Michael, although not sure how it could have been done otherwise.
It would be interesting the see the film now. Don't suppose it will reappear on the big screen but presumably out on DVD if we can't wait for it to be recycled on ITV3 or whatever.
Yesterday, despite no moon being visible (it was close to the night of no-moon for March), to 'Dancing at Lunacy' at the Old Vic. Spelt Lughnasa for those from the Gaeltacht. Started the evening badly, learning that Wimbledon Station had been taken out of service for most of the weekend, thereby stuffing all the trains to Waterloo from our part of the world. As it turned out this was not a big deal, connections at strange parts of Clapham Junction Station working well. Although tiresome neighbours on both trains on the way home. In the first, two nine or ten year old boys (this being at 2230 mind you) who were a bit overtired or overexcited or both and who thought that it was cool to carry on a childishly coarse conversation for the duration. F-words and S-words everywhere. They smelt of escape for the evening from very proper homes. Should I have pulled them up? In the second, we had a posse of twenty or thirty year old boys who had clearly been on the booze all day. They may have been to the footer. One of them drivelled all the way from Clapham Junction to Epsom. Not coarse or even loud; just common or garden drivel. But half an hour of it did become very tiresome. The patience of even his companions was wearing thin by the time we got off.
But before that, interesting evening at the Old Vic. First discovery was that it had become the New Vic, in the sense that the auditorium has been remodelled since we were last there. The long old auditorium with its massive proscenium arch is now theatre up front and personal in the round. What was the front of the auditorium is now the stage, what was the stage has been converted into auditorium and the back of the old auditorium is a bar. Not qualified to comment on the theatrical qualities of theatre in the round - although it seemed to me to have pluses and minuses. Some things worked well and some things not so well - I did not like the very visible corruption of the original design. Like in one of those clubs in a converted cinema, one is all too aware of what went before. What brought this conversion on?
Second discovery was that Lunacy was the shortened form of the name for a sort of harvest festival, pagan in origin. I had assumed that it was the name of a place. This Irish writer was clearly interested in the grip of the church on the land, and on the antecedants to that grip. He was also a prolific chap with thirty plays and adaptions listed.
Third discovery was that it was a ladies play, but one of interest to gents. as well. Rather good in fact. Reminded that life in the country in the olden days could be pretty grim, despite the big bits of fun poking out from time to time. Not wot like you would think from a diet of heritage soaps at all. I thought that most of the cast did well, some of them reminding me of people I know quite well. Hon. menches. for Niamh Cusack as Maggie and Finbar Lynch as Jack. The former made ample use of that strange (and only) exemption in the smoking laws to smoke several wild woodbines on stage. Probably not too happy with the overpaid adminstrative staff who managed get her sister's, rather than her, name on the outside of the very glossy and expensive (£4) programme. Me not too happy with Peter MacDonald as Michael, although not sure how it could have been done otherwise.
It would be interesting the see the film now. Don't suppose it will reappear on the big screen but presumably out on DVD if we can't wait for it to be recycled on ITV3 or whatever.
# posted by Jim @ 2:56 AM 
