Tuesday 13 May 2008

The Serpent's Teeth


Last night's subscription performance at the Sydney Theatre Company
was the double bill of Daniel Keene's one act plays Citizens and Soldiers.

Citizens portrays the lives of people overshadowed by the barrier of a confining wall. Although the program notes suggest the play's 'wall' is of a universal nature the play itself makes it quite clear that the wall in question is the one Israel built to keep Palestinians at bay. This play contains a sequence of vignettes of people trying to pursue their lives hindered by artificial and unfair obstacles.

Soldiers portrays people gathered in an aircraft hanger awaiting the return from Iraq of the bodies of loved ones. Another series of vignettes has the people questioning themselves, their loved ones and each other; in effect one long 'what does it all mean'.

Whilst both plays concerned issues worthy of dramatic interpretation neither of the works enthused Mk or myself. Citizens frankly seemed pointless as it raised nothing remarkable nor particularly thought provoking. Soldiers was tiresome, the playwright apparently aiming to make great poetic statements with each vignette only to produce a narrative of confused statements.

Mk summed it up in a word as we departed the theatre; 'pretentious'.

3 comments:

  1. Victor, you're very culture - two trips to the theatre in a week! I feel a little....simple!

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  2. Evol - you are cultured in other things (b-grade horror movies and 'alternative' music) that I cannot hope to understand to your level. Each to their own!

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  3. I saw it Friday night. Woeful scripts....it was like the National Theatre performing Home and Away on stage.

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