posted by
mmoa_writes at 04:44pm on 06/12/2009 under john osborne, meh, plays, the entertainer, theatre
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Went to see The Entertainer on Wednesday.
It was crap.
Oh alright, that was harsh. The first half was pretty good even if I couldn't quite get a handle on Jean's (the daughter's) character. I initially blamed this on the actress but then when I still hadn't got her any more by the end, I decided to blame it on Osborne (I'm sorry but she does not have anything like the youthful ardour or dissenting voice that she's meant to. She is just a cypher. I will agree with Hickling's take on the other characters, though) . The second half was thoroughly boring, however, in spite of the supposed climaxes (a couple of people dying, revealed infidelities both past and intended). I went with a friend from Uni who actually nodded off at one point - and this being a matinee, I could see a few of the older audience members doing the same - around the time I had started to daydream which probably isn't a good thing.
What made me laugh was that at the end of the play, the first thing my friend, who is possibly the least pretentious person in the world, said was a) it didn't count a theatre if you had characters randomly spouting ideological manifestos, especially in a 'domestic' setting, in order to get your point across and b) the writer had some women issues. I laughed so hard as that was exactly what I was thinking but didn't want to say in case I sounded even more obnoxious than usual. The fact that Osborne was one of those 60's revolutionaries made this article somehow more resonant. Revolutionary, just not quite revolutionary enough.
The annoying thing was that there was plenty of dramatic tension, all the right sort of laughs and thoroughly decent acting etc etc but there'd be a section where nothing would move forward or someone would say something and that was enough to leave me feeling a bit 'meh' by the end of it. A bit like 'The Homecoming' actually. Only by the end of it, I just felt furious for having paid to watch it when I could have just waited for it to come on Sky Arts.
I did get what Osborne was on about, though. I would have got it more if it hadn't been so boring, though that could be as much the fault of the director as the playwright himself.
It was crap.
Oh alright, that was harsh. The first half was pretty good even if I couldn't quite get a handle on Jean's (the daughter's) character. I initially blamed this on the actress but then when I still hadn't got her any more by the end, I decided to blame it on Osborne (I'm sorry but she does not have anything like the youthful ardour or dissenting voice that she's meant to. She is just a cypher. I will agree with Hickling's take on the other characters, though) . The second half was thoroughly boring, however, in spite of the supposed climaxes (a couple of people dying, revealed infidelities both past and intended). I went with a friend from Uni who actually nodded off at one point - and this being a matinee, I could see a few of the older audience members doing the same - around the time I had started to daydream which probably isn't a good thing.
What made me laugh was that at the end of the play, the first thing my friend, who is possibly the least pretentious person in the world, said was a) it didn't count a theatre if you had characters randomly spouting ideological manifestos, especially in a 'domestic' setting, in order to get your point across and b) the writer had some women issues. I laughed so hard as that was exactly what I was thinking but didn't want to say in case I sounded even more obnoxious than usual. The fact that Osborne was one of those 60's revolutionaries made this article somehow more resonant. Revolutionary, just not quite revolutionary enough.
The annoying thing was that there was plenty of dramatic tension, all the right sort of laughs and thoroughly decent acting etc etc but there'd be a section where nothing would move forward or someone would say something and that was enough to leave me feeling a bit 'meh' by the end of it. A bit like 'The Homecoming' actually. Only by the end of it, I just felt furious for having paid to watch it when I could have just waited for it to come on Sky Arts.
I did get what Osborne was on about, though. I would have got it more if it hadn't been so boring, though that could be as much the fault of the director as the playwright himself.
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