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Monday, October 06, 2008
Staging Sarah Kane’s Violent ‘Blasted’ Presents a Challenge to Soho Rep
NYTimes.com: "CONSIDERING what they’re putting onstage, the creative team behind “Blasted” is awfully genteel. Before a recent rehearsal of that 1995 play by Sarah Kane, which has its New York premiere at Soho Rep on Thursday, the director Sarah Benson politely offered water in her soft British lilt; as the actress Marin Ireland glided into the room, she gave a friendly wave. It seemed contradictory when they both acknowledged they were afraid of the show."
Wow, this play sounds like quite a challenge, both for the performers and the audience. I know a lot of people react strongly to extreme violence in entertainment, but I think that it is permissible if it has a point. It sounds like the violence in the play is trying to confront the audience with their insensitivity to it, almost challenging them not to be disgusted. And I think that the play has a good point. Maybe we should think about how we perceive and interact with violence in our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteI think that its refreshing to see such an edgy production grab the attention of the media to this degree and bring out such a passionate reaction in the general public. It sounds like such an intense production that has some truly disturbing and possibly offensive aspects. I applaud the producers on their commitment and faith in their decision to do the unexpected and take the risk with such a controversial play.
ReplyDeleteWe just discussed this in Directing ten minutes ago and something that Jed said about it really irked me. He said that it would never be done at CMU. This is exactly what should be done at CMU. If it is not safe for aspiring artists to explore while in school, where will it be safe?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laura.
ReplyDeleteThis show scared the crap out of the production team. We should learn how to take on the shows that absolutely horrify us. Where are we going to get if we keep designing the shows that we know we can do. Let's welcome uncertainty and crap our pants.
CONSIDERING what they’re putting onstage, the creative team behind “Blasted” is awfully genteel. Before a recent rehearsal of that 1995 play by Sarah Kane, which has its New York premiere at Soho Rep on Thursday, the director Sarah Benson politely offered water in her soft British lilt; as the actress Marin Ireland glided into the room, she gave a friendly wave. It seemed contradictory when they both acknowledged they were afraid of the show.
ReplyDelete--------------------------
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