Lately, I've been having this debate in my head: are plays 'low art' or 'high art'? My conclusion was that, mostly, playwriting, the theatre, is 'low' art. Terrible conclusion to come to for a playwright, I know. (And yes, I have these very profound discussions with myself on buses and trains and even on my bike sometimes...) One can not honestly compare some theatre-writing with the work of say, Mozart, Ted Hughes, Martha Graham etc. But then of course SOMETIMES theatre, play-writing is 'high art', and one gets a glimpse of the plays of ancient Greece, the catharsis - all of that, though this rarely happens. What do I mean by 'high art'? Am I some sort of art snob or what? Well, by 'high art' I mean the kind of work that when you see it/ hear it, pins your eye sockets to the back of the wall. You know the kind I mean. And RARELY does a play do this. Ibsen, Beckett, Pinter, Sarah Kane, Edward Bond - a handful of playwrights have managed it. And one more...
Last night I went to the Gate Theatre in Dublin (my favourite theatre in Dublin, too) to see Conor McPherson's The Birds. The play stars Sinead Cusack, Ciaran Hinds and Denise Gough. The piece is, I think, McPherson's bleakest and most powerful piece to date. I loved it. This is fine, darkly-spun material and it absolutely pins you to the back of the wall with its bleakness. It's not THE FILM and its not Du Maurier's short story. The story has a character called NAT, who is also the central character of the play but McPherson's NAT has an entirely different back-story. So really Du Maurier's story just provides the premise for McPherson's dystopian tale, and if anything the piece is most influenced by Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD.
The Birds come out with the tides. Society has been destroyed and chaos rules. Diane and Nat are trying to survive in a big house. Who are they? How will they cope? How do they cope when Julia arrives? Who is capable of killing and who will survive? All the questions dystopian stories usually ask. And it has some marvellous lines:
'anyone who is out there now is an animal...' says the crazed farmer. Scarey.
Also, there are some lovely thoughts on 'kindness', which Nat considers, is the mark of civilisation. I, too, have always considered kindness the greatest human virtue.
Anyway, it's a beautiful, deeply thought-provoking piece and I think it will be a big smash for him. Is it 'high art'? I think so.
Last night I went to the Gate Theatre in Dublin (my favourite theatre in Dublin, too) to see Conor McPherson's The Birds. The play stars Sinead Cusack, Ciaran Hinds and Denise Gough. The piece is, I think, McPherson's bleakest and most powerful piece to date. I loved it. This is fine, darkly-spun material and it absolutely pins you to the back of the wall with its bleakness. It's not THE FILM and its not Du Maurier's short story. The story has a character called NAT, who is also the central character of the play but McPherson's NAT has an entirely different back-story. So really Du Maurier's story just provides the premise for McPherson's dystopian tale, and if anything the piece is most influenced by Cormac McCarthy's THE ROAD.
The Birds come out with the tides. Society has been destroyed and chaos rules. Diane and Nat are trying to survive in a big house. Who are they? How will they cope? How do they cope when Julia arrives? Who is capable of killing and who will survive? All the questions dystopian stories usually ask. And it has some marvellous lines:
'anyone who is out there now is an animal...' says the crazed farmer. Scarey.
Also, there are some lovely thoughts on 'kindness', which Nat considers, is the mark of civilisation. I, too, have always considered kindness the greatest human virtue.
Anyway, it's a beautiful, deeply thought-provoking piece and I think it will be a big smash for him. Is it 'high art'? I think so.
Many thanks for this review!!! I've seen the play five times and always loved it. I was a bit upset when I heard the reviewers always refering to Hitchcock's movie or du Maurier's story and not the play itself.
ReplyDeleteBest regards
When it comes to reviews I like to think of what Warhol said about them: that they should be weighed not read. I hope the play transfers to London - it will do well there, I think.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds...hang on...my husband says it sounds like a zombie film from this line: "anyone who is out there now is an animal"...?? I'm not up on my zombie films. I thought (from your review) it sounds very much like a rich gown of heavy silk over finer silk, layers upon layers of finer and simpler fabric until there are bare legs: humanity. I would like very much to see this play.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the Warhol quote!
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI posted something on your own site last week and god knows what I did, but my long-winded message re the stories of Lorrie Morrie didn't appear. I think sometimes I choose the wrong ID thing when sending a message. I've even done it on my own blog. Anyway - lovely to hear from you. Yes, Conor McPherson sets up a sense of the 'outside' being absolutely terrorised by the birds and as society is no more, those who are still out there are probably killing each other to survive. Very much like a zombie film, or THE ROAD (the movie is coming to Ireland soon! YEAH!) Speaking of zombies, I recently saw the remake of Dawn of the Dead and thought it was pretty brilliant. I've not done a zombie story; must see what happens when I do. These forms are great because you can just keep reinventing them.