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Greg
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Jul 26, 2015 10:14AM
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Following from a discussion ages ago on Pink's challenge, I've just been having a look at Project Gutenberg, Australian site. I was really surprised to see so many plays by Eugene O'Neill are available in the public domain.
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Thanks Gill! Good to know they're there to read when I have time. :)
Gill wrote: "Following from a discussion ages ago on Pink's challenge, I've just been having a look at Project Gutenberg, Australian site. I was really surprised to see so many plays by [author:Eugene O'Neill|..."Good to hear. I've been pleasantly surprised with quite a few more books being on the Australian site :)
Recently I had just read several novels set Ancient Egypt in periods before & after the King Tut era. Then, while browsing in a Savers I spotted a play by Agatha Christie called Akhnaton: A Play In Three Acts
I'd never heard of it.Anyway, it was written about the time she did Death on the Nile, and it was pretty good. Akhnaten came across as something of a flower child who saw peace and love in the worship of his one god, Aten, as more important than using military might to preserve his kingdom. He didn't last long. Lots of palace intrigue and the play provided a good visual picture of the era.
Phair wrote: "Recently I had just read several novels set Ancient Egypt in periods before & after the King Tut era. Then, while browsing in a Savers I spotted a play by Agatha Christie called ..."Oh, I picked up The Mousetrap and Other Plays at the library yesterday. I wonder if that is in it.
I've finished Translations by Brian Friel the other day, which I thought was a brilliant book. Very witty, yet full of substance, and particularly interesting because I spend so much time in Ireland/Northern Ireland lately, and the subject of identification with either language (Gaelic/English) and or community is so alive still.
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Looks interesting Jenny!
Greg wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I've finished Translations by Brian Friel the other day, which I thought was a brilliant book. Very witty, yet full of substance, and particularly interesting because I ..."Indeed. I am adding it to my wishlist :)
(edited to add later) LOL! It is already on my tbr!
Leslie wrote: "Greg wrote: "(edited to add later) LOL! It is already on my tbr! "Lol
A few weeks ago I "cleaned" my wishlist because there were too many books and I couldn't remember who recommended them to me or reading the plot I couldn't understand why I had added them!
dely wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Greg wrote: "(edited to add later) LOL! It is already on my tbr! "Lol
A few weeks ago I "cleaned" my wishlist because there were too many books and I couldn't remember who recommen..."
I do that periodically - I don't like my TBR to get too big as it starts oppressing me. I also rearrange the order, moving books up or down, even more often!
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Brian Friel, a great playwright that Gill introduced me to, died today. I've linked to articles about him in our Literary News - thread
I was just coming here to link the same info, Jenny. What a great playwright!Brian Friel: Famed playwright dies aged 86
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern...
He is known as the Irish Chekhov.
I'm headed to see Vanya and Sonia and Marsha and Spike on Saturday. Has anyone seen it? Thoughts?
Katy wrote: "I'm headed to see Vanya and Sonia and Marsha and Spike on Saturday. Has anyone seen it? Thoughts?"I saw it -- I thought it was well done and certainly made me laugh. Unfortunately for me, I saw it just as I was beginning my Chekhov reading so I am sure that there were plenty of references that went right over my head.
Have fun & let me know what you think after you've seen it :)
Leslie:Are you suggesting I need to read some Chekhov before Saturday? :)
Katy wrote: "Leslie:Are you suggesting I need to read some Chekhov before Saturday? :)"
No, the play is clear even if you don't know Chekhov. It is a bit of a spoof on his works (as you will learn in the beginning of the play, the 3 siblings Vanya, Sonia and Masha were all given names out of Chekhov because he was their mother's favorite playwright) or maybe spoof is the wrong word... in any case, people who are familiar with Chekhov would find an added element of fun.
Tomorrow I will be picking up Albee's The Collected Plays, Vol. 3: 1978-2003 but in the meanwhile, I needed something cheerful to counteract the graphic novel/audiobook combo I have going right now. So I decided to dip into my Kindle omnibus of George Bernard Shaw plays and came up with a winner: Press Cuttings. I found this one-act play about the government & military response to the suffragette movement hilarious! And the women leaders of the "Anti-Suffragette Movement" were pretty darn funny too :)
I'll have to check that out. I need something funny. I enjoyed Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike very much. His rant was quite touching and funny. I did find the complete works of Chekhov on Kindle for $2.99 so I'll be diving into Chekhov soon.
Katy wrote: "I'll have to check that out. I need something funny. I enjoyed Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike very much. His rant was quite touching and funny. I did find the complete works of Chekhov on Kind..."Glad you enjoyed it!
Katy wrote: "I'll have to check that out. I need something funny. ..."I too have been needing something funny recently -- for me, I suspect it is a reaction to the spooky books! For some reason, when I think about funny plays, my first instinct is Irish plays. Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan... So I have read a couple of those recently.
I read a short one-act play by GBS called Press Cuttings which I thought was hilarious. It is about the military & gov't response to the suffragette movement in the early 1900s.
This afternoon, I reread one of the first plays I ever read outside of assigned schoolwork -- Sheridan's The School for Scandal -- by listening to the Librivox full cast recording. Sadly, this was once when the audiobook detracted rather than added for me (though it might not for others -- it was mostly a pacing issue for me). Despite my disappointment in the audiobook, I still loved the play itself & wrote a fairly detailed review (for once!):
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
I saw Translations in London's West End when it was new (maybe the first production?) Then listened to it a few years ago on the radio. Both times I found it quite difficult to access. Today (oddly, given this conversation) I saw a copy on the shelves of an antiquarian bookshop and wondered whether to buy it - I'm wondering if it's easier to read first and then see a production. I've really enjoyed other plays by Brian Friel - sad that he has died.
Jean wrote: "I saw Translations in London's West End when it was new (maybe the first production?) Then listened to it a few years ago on the radio. Both times I found it quite difficult to access..."Jean, do you think that another Friel play might be a better starting point?
Jean wrote: "I saw Translations in London's West End when it was new (maybe the first production?) Then listened to it a few years ago on the radio. Both times I found it quite difficult to access..."Different points of view, I saw Translations before I read it. I was completely blown away by it. Such a moving play.
Leslie - That would be my take on it, yes.Gill - As you say - completely polarised views! I can't help thinking it might be as simple as being befuddled by the heavy Irish accents in both cases, surprising though that seems.
I've found my programme - it was at the National Theatre in 1981 - maybe we were in the same audience Gill ... I don't recognise any of the cast now except for Ian Bannen, though.
I am in awe that you have your programme!
So am I! I'm actually in the process of getting rid of most of them - whoever looks at old theatre/music programmes?! But this was still in the pile ...
I keep mine in a pile and then get frustrated with the clutter and throw them away. But what a joy to find
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Love Shakespeare's style; finding the story a bit irksome on the female point of view!!!
Oh don't tempt me Katy! I'm trying desperately to curb my terrible hoarding habits so that we can eventually move house!
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I actually keep all of mine - oddly Ron & I do pull them all out and look at them every couple of years. They remind me of dear friends I went to them with as well as some wonderful theatergoing experiences. I got some magazine boxes from the comic store and have them organized them by year. Oh my, perhaps I'm sounding crazy now, ha ha. My memory isn't good; so having something to hold in my hands jogs it. That's my excuse anyway. But I'm up to four boxes; so I might have to thin them out soon! :)
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Yes Leslie! Maybe check Riders to the Sea out from the library if you don't mind a depressing story. A very short play; so touching and simple though.
The other ones I've read by him were comedies such as The Playboy of the Western World. Those were entertaining but not in the top eschelon of comedies for me, nowhere near as entertaining as Molière for instance.
I've rescued a few of mine from the recycling :( Oh dear! Others I have just kept the cast list, some I am reviewing here (4 today so far) before I bin them. It's very hard - goes against all my hoarding instincts. But to be honest I hadn't looked at most of them since the actual performance!Yes, there is a nostalgic factor - and they're the ones I keep. But so many I am disappointed to find are mostly adverts and publicity mugshots. I've looked on Amazon, and people are selling old theatre programmes for silly money - but I don't think the charity shops would really have the resources to put into doing this.
A while ago I tried to donate lots of old theatre programmes to the one specific theatre they applied to. I was sure they'd have an archive, as some similar ones were displayed in frames on their walls etc. The artwork alone was interesting. But when I got in touch (entailing several phone calls before I could speak to the right person) I was told the archive was held by County Hall. When I emailed the right department, I got a proforma letter, with no follow-up.
That expended the amount of energy I wanted to give it really! They got recycled. But what a waste. Sometimes I wonder what is happening to our history - we seem to live in a century of ephemera.
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That expended the amount of energy I wanted to give it really! They got recycled. But what a waste. Sometimes I wonder what is happening to our history - we seem to live in a century of ephemera. ..."
What a shame Jean - it does seem too bad the lack of interest in history and the past other than "big" events. The smaller things have most of the meaning really. How sad the theater never bothered to follow up.
I wish I would have saved mine, especially from smaller theaters with less well known plays. It would help me remember them. My brother keeps an on-going list of his favorite plays/musicals on his computer. Every show he has ever seen is ranked.I have been reading Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway and have become interested in the history of the theaters themselves. What shows were performed there and what actors. You know they have some great stories.
Greg: I'm glad you are back posting.
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Thanks Katy!
And what a great idea of your brother's. Maybe if I need to whittle down the programs, I'll at least take pictures of them to save in digital files. A good way to preserve the memory without taking space.
I agree - that's why I'm reviewing them, and adding a few notes under the "My private notes" bit Goodreads gives us :)
I'm just back from a stage version of The Gift of Stones. It was extremely good; the number of props were very limited and used in an interesting way. It made me think that I should read more byJim Crace.
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Good idea Jean! How do you do it? Review the plays and then add notes about the production under my private notes?
Tomorrow evening I'm going to see the West Yorkshire Playhouse touring production of 'Beryl', which is about the life of the female cyclist Beryl Burton. It's been sold out weeks ago, but 1 ticket was returned today. Lucky me!
Gill - you're on a play-roll! So what are you seeing at the weekend? ;)Greg - Yes mostly, with dates and theatres, though some of it creeps into the reviews if the characters are given lots of substance by the actors, if you see what I mean. I think for those I see now I try to be a bit stricter, but if it's from memory it'll just be the impressions I'm left with!
I wish the internet had been around when I first started going to the theatre, and then I could have done what Katy's brother does! Somehow it seemed harder to keep a little book ...
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Here is a review from Rolling Stone:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/liv...
Gill, Beryl sounds interesting! I don't think a production of that has come my way yet. Is it new? Or maybe it just hasn't crossed the ocean yet.
Greg wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Has anyone ever read any J.M. Synge plays?"Yes Leslie! Maybe check Riders to the Sea out from the library if you don't mind a depressing story. A very..."
Thanks Greg -- I discovered a book of Irish plays on my shelf (one of my dad's books I acquired over the summer) and Synge was the only author whose name seemed familiar. I think it has the 2 plays you mentioned :)
Jean wrote: "Gill - you're on a play-roll! So what are you seeing at the weekend? ;)..."
Says the pot to the kettle *grin* But seriously I have noticed you are reading a fair number of plays recently (or at least reviewing them).
I'm currently (re-)reading Dramen, that is, the collected theater by Elias Canetti. The book is composed of three plays, two of which I had already read (Wedding and Comedy of Vanity), the last one it's a new read for me.I also wrote my bachelor's degree on Comedy of Vanity, a play I really really love. It's nice reading them again.
I would love to see them on stage, but arguably they are very difficult to represent on stage, due to the many characters and the difficult scenes involved. I heard there was once, some years ago, a representation of Comedy of Vanity at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, I would have loved to be there.
Has anyone read any plays by Canetti yet? I don't even know if they are translated into English, though I think they must be.
And speaking of Edinburgh Fringe, has anyone been there? I was there three years ago and it was brilliant, it's a real pleasure for people who love theater.
Marina - I've never been to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, but watched extracts on the TV (yes, I know it's not the same!) Some of our greatest talents have originated there I think. I do love the city of Edinburgh - it seems to be unique, on a hill with fantastic views from the castle :)
That's a dream of mine- to fringe at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!
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