Quite beautiful and very skilled puppet and mask work. From the start I was concerned about the main performer Ilka Schönbein's health (there was also a woman who played the piano throughout the show who was a fantastically alive and playful performer). She was very very skinny, and playing grotesque characters, and for me her grotesqueness combined with the grotesqueness of the show was a bit much for me. I felt a bit prejudiced by the end really, because what she did throughout the evening was incredible. But I was a bit spooked out. And I'm not really attracted to the grotesque. I like pretty things? I dunno. I think probably yes, even though saying that makes me cringe. I can see why she likes the grotesque though. And that's cool.
Saturday day:
Went to the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle with Lorenzo to go and see the Dinosaurs! A boys dream! We were both sharing our dreams about Dinosaurs, and our memories of Jurassic Park.
Really old-school like in 'Night at the Museum'
Mean.
Saturday night:
Une Flûte Enchantée (The Magic Flute)
directed by Peter Brook
at Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord
Fantastically simple and clear. Beautiful singing. Actors were tall and free - great for Greek Tragedy!
In the past month I've seen theatre by Théâtre du Soleil, Théâtre de Complicité and Peter Brook. All for a total price of under 50€...not bad.
Magic. Community (food and drink). Simplicity. Imagination. These are core elements of all of these productions that have made them special for me. I want to bring these into the theatre I make back home. I'm going to make sure these things are there. I think it's totally possible to offer some food before a show, and create a bit of theatre magic as simple as covering the stage with a sheet and then pulling it down at the beginning of the show.
I've also been thinking lately about how the theatre industry is essentially a gift industry (all arts industries are). This thought is spurred by something Christian said to me when we were discussing how to market a future season of Caucasian Chalk Circle, and also from a book I'm reading at the moment called The Wisdom of Crowds - Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few.
It's been a bit of a shift for me to think about Theatre as a gift as opposed to a commercial venture, because I really want to make money in my career - I don't want to be a poor artist that does everything for little to nothing. But it does make sense to me that when we make theatre we are creating something without necessarily knowing or thinking that we are going to get anything in return. We are making a gift, that we give when the show opens. We may receive something in return, but we might not, and anyway that's not what it's about. It's the act of giving that makes us feel whole. This I guess is why funding for the arts is important because people won't give if they don't have the money or time to do so. So in a way arts funding is like giving people enough money to create gifts to give the world. Théâtre du Soleil's show is a prime example of a 'gift'. Watching it, you feel the love that has gone into what is being gifted. It's a 'It's the thought that counts' kind of gift. And as an audience member you leave feeling like something special has been made just for you. So I like this idea of gift giving. It frames what I'm embarking in a career of (gift giving, in the form of theatre) well. But how to money at the same time...hmmm...
Sunday night:
Christmas dinner at Andre's place. Bring a plate from your country. I brought shish kebabs to have on the barbie.
Obviously the grotesqueness of 'La Vieille et la Bête' has influenced me subconsciously...
Actually this is what they looked like.
A great night. Full of singing and laughter, amazing food (Spanish Omelette, Tiger Prawns, Foie Gras) and drink (Vin Chaud & Egg Nog).
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