Simon Callow writes an article on doing one-man shows, though mostly it's about his own show, Dickens' life and this weird actor who pretended he was Irish until he WAS Irish...I don't know what is up with that. But here's an excerpt that I really love:
The silence that descends upon an auditorium when it is being told a story that it wants to hear is like no other; but it is not passive, as when being overwhelmed by 10 million decibels and dancing scenery and serried ranks of highly disciplined flesh, all of which is, of course, highly attractive in itself, but leaves little for the audience to do.
Another article in the Times today is this piece by Margo Jefferson. It mainly concerns two different shows (Topdog/Underdog and Talk) but it's connective theme is that people may want their theater to reflect and personify real life, a notion I fully endorse.
Hmmm. Two pieces in one day, on one-person shows and the value of telling real stories. Damn...if I didn't know better, storytelling is enjoying a sudden surge in respectability. Either way it's nice to see the Times giving these ideas some ink.
2:46 AM
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