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Death in England: Another Inspector Mirabelle adventure
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 18, 2022
The best thing that could ever happen to me just did: I got paid to read something!
I was asked to read this play and evaluate if it was appropriate to perform on a Christian campus. I'm not entirely the best person in the world to task with this because, well, a play is not real life. Is Hamlet appropriate to have on a Christian campus? It deals with adultery, murder, sycophancy, and suicide. But I would still say Hamlet is appropriate to have on a Christian campus. It deals with life. It explores deep issues. Is the goal of Christian campuses to coddle the minds of their students and shelter them from all thought? No! May it never be! So in that sense, I think this play is just fine. Yes there is drinking, gasp, and tobacco, horror, and a prostitute, heaven forbid. But those things exist. We cannot pretend that they don't. We live in a broken world, and we can't just wave our hands and bury our heads in the sand and not think through the implications of those things existing.
But, there is more to this than such a superficial analysis. It is not just that it is appropriate to show this play on a Christian campus. It is the question of if it is appropriate to require, or even encourage, someone to act the part of something or someone that they are ethically opposed to? Requiring it is definitely not okay. Encouraging, I'm not so sure, we are supposed to put ourselves into the shoes of others, to see things from their perspective, that's what the arts are all about. Reading a book is done so that we can see the world in a different way. I don't believe in censorship, I don't believe in limiting what people interact with. I want to understand those that are different than me, every time I pick up a book by someone who has different values than me, I am doing it purposefully because I want to understand them. Are we going to say that people shouldn't read this play because it has questionable aspects? No! So then what is the difference between acting out the story in your head, which is what happens when you read, and acting out the story on the stage? The only thing I can think is that people will assume that you hold the same morals as that are espoused in the play. Or that you are saying that they are good morals because you are doing the play. That's not necessarily the case. Perhaps you are putting on the play because you want to drive discussion, because you want to explore the themes it has and compare them to your worldview. Then go for it!
I thought this play was absolutely hilarious. I mean truly comical and funny. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading it. The author is well read and is constantly alluding to other books, and other pieces of famous drama and literature. There is a great deal of word play that is a delight to read, and there is a sensitivity to construction that draws people into it. And it actually does deal with deep themes. What is life? What is death? Should death be feared? Should death be loved? Is it a surcease? Is it torture? Is it inevitable? This is not merely a comical murder mystery. It's a clever commentary on society and the values we ascribe to different things and how they pale in comparison to the infinite. It's modelling how we turn from those things rather than considering them with seriousness. And it does all of those things through implication rather than through explication. I thought it was brilliant.
So, is it appropriate for a Christian campus? Honestly, I would say 'yes'. But will it face blowback from a certain proportion of the people who attend? Absolutely it will. Now, if the cast and the producers are prepared to handle that blowback in a measured, nuanced, and intelligent way, then beautiful, go for it. That's what education is all about. Let's deal with these themes, let's explore these issues, let's compare them to our worldview and wrestle with these difficulties. Yes!!! But what if the cast and the producers are not prepared to handle that blowback? What if they themselves are reading the play at a superficial level? What if they don't even notice what some of the blowback is going to be? Then they are going to be caught flat-footed and it won't go well. And that...that is my concern. I have read what the producing student had to say about the play...and it appears to me that they didn't think about it that much. And actually, I would argue, they had very little idea what the play was about. If I were to have assigned this play in one of my classes and told them to analyze it, and this paper is what I got in reply, I would not have been able to give it a passing grade. The student read though it and crossed out all of the questionable words without noticing the other half of the questionable words. At one point they said they would take the setting outside of Britain by just not doing the British accents without noticing that the play is purposefully set in Britain because it is commenting on British culture and the interplay between classes and their values. The author is quite cleverly drawing the US into that comparison, but it appears that the student didn’t notice. The producer removed words that are questionable in an American context, but left a bunch of others that are quite profane because they are simply unaware of what is actually being portrayed by the character. The producer also tried to mitigate the word choices on a superficial level, replacing them with less taboo words from an American context, yet by replacing those words they inadvertently destroyed the meaning of a scene and caused later lines to be non sequitur, that makes me believe that they didn’t understand the scene in the first place. A random word can’t be used as a replacement, you have to see if the replacement maintains the flow of the work in its entirety. The replacements penciled in on the script itself make it fairly clear that the student hasn't done the required level of analysis, and that point seems to be made further in the artistic statement. That shows a lack of understanding of the play’s content. The play is not merely a comedy. It is not merely telling us to laugh at death. I would argue that idea isn’t even really the point of the play, it’s a tool that is used at the beginning to draw the reader into the deeper themes, not a deeper theme in itself. The choice of Miss Constance to share a kiss with death is one of the climactic scenes in the play. It is climactic because it is referencing classic literature and all of the symbolism contained within them and because it is symbolic of Miss Constance’s development as a character. From a prostitute hired for her services to a woman who is seeking to be loved and to love truly. It’s a tragic and beautiful scene, here is a woman that is willing to literally die for love, and yet she is basing that love on something as trivial as a handsome face. It’s a culmination of all of the comparisons in this drama between that which is infinite and valuable and that which is transient and worthless. That scene cannot simply be replaced with a platonic hug. There is no reason to maintain the character or the scene at that point.
So, is the play itself appropriate to a Christian campus? I think yes. Is it appropriate in this particular context by this particular producer? I would say no.
I was asked to read this play and evaluate if it was appropriate to perform on a Christian campus. I'm not entirely the best person in the world to task with this because, well, a play is not real life. Is Hamlet appropriate to have on a Christian campus? It deals with adultery, murder, sycophancy, and suicide. But I would still say Hamlet is appropriate to have on a Christian campus. It deals with life. It explores deep issues. Is the goal of Christian campuses to coddle the minds of their students and shelter them from all thought? No! May it never be! So in that sense, I think this play is just fine. Yes there is drinking, gasp, and tobacco, horror, and a prostitute, heaven forbid. But those things exist. We cannot pretend that they don't. We live in a broken world, and we can't just wave our hands and bury our heads in the sand and not think through the implications of those things existing.
But, there is more to this than such a superficial analysis. It is not just that it is appropriate to show this play on a Christian campus. It is the question of if it is appropriate to require, or even encourage, someone to act the part of something or someone that they are ethically opposed to? Requiring it is definitely not okay. Encouraging, I'm not so sure, we are supposed to put ourselves into the shoes of others, to see things from their perspective, that's what the arts are all about. Reading a book is done so that we can see the world in a different way. I don't believe in censorship, I don't believe in limiting what people interact with. I want to understand those that are different than me, every time I pick up a book by someone who has different values than me, I am doing it purposefully because I want to understand them. Are we going to say that people shouldn't read this play because it has questionable aspects? No! So then what is the difference between acting out the story in your head, which is what happens when you read, and acting out the story on the stage? The only thing I can think is that people will assume that you hold the same morals as that are espoused in the play. Or that you are saying that they are good morals because you are doing the play. That's not necessarily the case. Perhaps you are putting on the play because you want to drive discussion, because you want to explore the themes it has and compare them to your worldview. Then go for it!
I thought this play was absolutely hilarious. I mean truly comical and funny. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading it. The author is well read and is constantly alluding to other books, and other pieces of famous drama and literature. There is a great deal of word play that is a delight to read, and there is a sensitivity to construction that draws people into it. And it actually does deal with deep themes. What is life? What is death? Should death be feared? Should death be loved? Is it a surcease? Is it torture? Is it inevitable? This is not merely a comical murder mystery. It's a clever commentary on society and the values we ascribe to different things and how they pale in comparison to the infinite. It's modelling how we turn from those things rather than considering them with seriousness. And it does all of those things through implication rather than through explication. I thought it was brilliant.
So, is it appropriate for a Christian campus? Honestly, I would say 'yes'. But will it face blowback from a certain proportion of the people who attend? Absolutely it will. Now, if the cast and the producers are prepared to handle that blowback in a measured, nuanced, and intelligent way, then beautiful, go for it. That's what education is all about. Let's deal with these themes, let's explore these issues, let's compare them to our worldview and wrestle with these difficulties. Yes!!! But what if the cast and the producers are not prepared to handle that blowback? What if they themselves are reading the play at a superficial level? What if they don't even notice what some of the blowback is going to be? Then they are going to be caught flat-footed and it won't go well. And that...that is my concern. I have read what the producing student had to say about the play...and it appears to me that they didn't think about it that much. And actually, I would argue, they had very little idea what the play was about. If I were to have assigned this play in one of my classes and told them to analyze it, and this paper is what I got in reply, I would not have been able to give it a passing grade. The student read though it and crossed out all of the questionable words without noticing the other half of the questionable words. At one point they said they would take the setting outside of Britain by just not doing the British accents without noticing that the play is purposefully set in Britain because it is commenting on British culture and the interplay between classes and their values. The author is quite cleverly drawing the US into that comparison, but it appears that the student didn’t notice. The producer removed words that are questionable in an American context, but left a bunch of others that are quite profane because they are simply unaware of what is actually being portrayed by the character. The producer also tried to mitigate the word choices on a superficial level, replacing them with less taboo words from an American context, yet by replacing those words they inadvertently destroyed the meaning of a scene and caused later lines to be non sequitur, that makes me believe that they didn’t understand the scene in the first place. A random word can’t be used as a replacement, you have to see if the replacement maintains the flow of the work in its entirety. The replacements penciled in on the script itself make it fairly clear that the student hasn't done the required level of analysis, and that point seems to be made further in the artistic statement. That shows a lack of understanding of the play’s content. The play is not merely a comedy. It is not merely telling us to laugh at death. I would argue that idea isn’t even really the point of the play, it’s a tool that is used at the beginning to draw the reader into the deeper themes, not a deeper theme in itself. The choice of Miss Constance to share a kiss with death is one of the climactic scenes in the play. It is climactic because it is referencing classic literature and all of the symbolism contained within them and because it is symbolic of Miss Constance’s development as a character. From a prostitute hired for her services to a woman who is seeking to be loved and to love truly. It’s a tragic and beautiful scene, here is a woman that is willing to literally die for love, and yet she is basing that love on something as trivial as a handsome face. It’s a culmination of all of the comparisons in this drama between that which is infinite and valuable and that which is transient and worthless. That scene cannot simply be replaced with a platonic hug. There is no reason to maintain the character or the scene at that point.
So, is the play itself appropriate to a Christian campus? I think yes. Is it appropriate in this particular context by this particular producer? I would say no.
October 25, 2022
Death in England is an allegory in the form of a British drawing room farce/thriller: a sort of Mousetrap gone metaphysical. In it, Death shows up at the home of a wealthy family to claim his next victim. But, in an unprecedented turn of events, he discovers that he has come to the wrong house. When his intended victim dies anyway, Death becomes alarmed: who has usurped his power and committed this murder? In short order, a cagey police detective is summoned, along with a number of people connected with the decedent, all of whom are potential suspects. And then a stranger arrives, a man who says he's an undertaker but is soon revealed to be none other than Life Itself. Can this be the culprit?
Written by veteran farceur Sam Bobrick, Death in England good-naturedly twits the Agatha Christie-style murder mystery genre, along with understated British manners, the time-honored British class system, and various other rather easy targets. At the same time, it manages to remind us, gently and modestly, to be grateful for our time on this planet, and to be just a little bit awed by the inevitability (and majesty) of our own mortality. It's smart medicine, delivered with more than a spoonful of sugar; for Bobrick has a wickedly clever sense of humor, and the laughs pile up, vigorously and hilariously, as Death in England wends its way through its remarkable premise to its unexpected (and wholly satisfying) conclusion.
Written by veteran farceur Sam Bobrick, Death in England good-naturedly twits the Agatha Christie-style murder mystery genre, along with understated British manners, the time-honored British class system, and various other rather easy targets. At the same time, it manages to remind us, gently and modestly, to be grateful for our time on this planet, and to be just a little bit awed by the inevitability (and majesty) of our own mortality. It's smart medicine, delivered with more than a spoonful of sugar; for Bobrick has a wickedly clever sense of humor, and the laughs pile up, vigorously and hilariously, as Death in England wends its way through its remarkable premise to its unexpected (and wholly satisfying) conclusion.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews