Look Back in Anger
27/07/06 20:20
Theatre Company: Unknown
Writer: John Osborne
Director: Miranda Harcourt
Actors: Aaron Alexander, Mia Blake, Louis Sutherland, Lucy Wigmore, Ken Blackburn
Location: Silo
Year: 2007
Notes from the director, Miranda Harcourt.
HELENA: I have discovered what is wrong with Jimmy. He was born out of his time.
ALISON: I know.
HELENA: It is as though he still thinks he is in the middle of the French Revolution.
This exchange between Alison and Helena struck me the first time I read John Osborne’s searing examination of domestic relationships. But perhaps Jimmy was not born too late as Helena posits. Perhaps Jimmy was born too early.
HELENA: ...There’s no place for people like that, in sex or politics or anything ... he doesn’t know where he is or where he’s going. He’ll never do anything and he’ll never amount to anything.
The relationships, the psychology and the sexual politics in Look Back in Anger seem so startlingly contemporary that it’s impossible to respond to these characters as a period piece. These people are us, living in flats in Newtown or Grafton in 2006. Alison’s passive aggression, Helena’s misguided determination, Cliff’s confusion and Jimmy’s nihilistic passion are as recognisable to us now as they were revolutionary to the original audience in 1956.
JIMMY: ... I’ve an idea. Why don’t w have a little game? Let’s pretend we’re human beings and that we’re actually alive. Just for a while. What do you say? Let’s pretend we’re human.
In this production we have played with anachronism, the interplay between being true to the period and being true to the voices of the characters.
The environment you see onstage here - the food, the pay, the clothes, the jobs, the domestic chores ... these remain true to the British Midlands in 1956. But we have brought some contemporary elements to our version of Osborne’s story. You will hear no assumed British accents. We have striven for an authentic voice, using natural NZ accents to serve the intricate subtleties of this universal drama.
The performance seemed awkward. Perhaps a combination of the actors and the raw material they had to work (which included a main character that was hard to make credible).
Writer: John Osborne
Director: Miranda Harcourt
Actors: Aaron Alexander, Mia Blake, Louis Sutherland, Lucy Wigmore, Ken Blackburn
Location: Silo
Year: 2007
Synopsis:
Notes from the director, Miranda Harcourt.
HELENA: I have discovered what is wrong with Jimmy. He was born out of his time.
ALISON: I know.
HELENA: It is as though he still thinks he is in the middle of the French Revolution.
This exchange between Alison and Helena struck me the first time I read John Osborne’s searing examination of domestic relationships. But perhaps Jimmy was not born too late as Helena posits. Perhaps Jimmy was born too early.
HELENA: ...There’s no place for people like that, in sex or politics or anything ... he doesn’t know where he is or where he’s going. He’ll never do anything and he’ll never amount to anything.
The relationships, the psychology and the sexual politics in Look Back in Anger seem so startlingly contemporary that it’s impossible to respond to these characters as a period piece. These people are us, living in flats in Newtown or Grafton in 2006. Alison’s passive aggression, Helena’s misguided determination, Cliff’s confusion and Jimmy’s nihilistic passion are as recognisable to us now as they were revolutionary to the original audience in 1956.
JIMMY: ... I’ve an idea. Why don’t w have a little game? Let’s pretend we’re human beings and that we’re actually alive. Just for a while. What do you say? Let’s pretend we’re human.
In this production we have played with anachronism, the interplay between being true to the period and being true to the voices of the characters.
The environment you see onstage here - the food, the pay, the clothes, the jobs, the domestic chores ... these remain true to the British Midlands in 1956. But we have brought some contemporary elements to our version of Osborne’s story. You will hear no assumed British accents. We have striven for an authentic voice, using natural NZ accents to serve the intricate subtleties of this universal drama.
Thoughts on this Production:
The performance seemed awkward. Perhaps a combination of the actors and the raw material they had to work (which included a main character that was hard to make credible).