Friday, February 26, 2010
Mendes Roughs Up ‘Tempest’ With Transvestite Ariel
Bloomberg.com: "It takes a director as powerful as Sam Mendes to turn Shakespeare’s supremely poetic “Tempest” into something as deplorable as what the Bridge Company is offering at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. All lyricism is wantonly excised."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
While this review may not have enjoyed this adaption, I appreciate the interesting take on Ariel. Usually it is assumed that Ariel in the Tempest is female, whoever what most people fail to notice is that Ariel is a spirit, a spirit, who has no gender. By creating a transvestite Ariel plays with the idea of gender in an interesting way.
This article made me laugh, a critic ranting about what he or she finds so atrocious about a particular show seems incredibly ridiculous. However, if i was on the side where it was my show that they were critiquing, I probably would find it as amusing.
That being said, I am always for new takes on shows, especially for Shakespeare. However, it is very risky to attempt something seemingly as bizarre as this critic said it was. Ariel as a transvestite seems like a fantastic idea. The character is certainly a bizarre one, and having it played as a transvestite could strengthen the part.
Wow...intense. I'm not too familiar with the format of well-written theatre reviews...are they usually as slanderous as they are lacking in any useful substance? This article sounds like it was written by a 10th grade emo child ranting about today's society and how the world just isn't fair. It had so little explanation as to why the show's interpretation didn't work, and is pretty much an incredibly useless piece of writing. I was actually more intrigued by the design elements named than anything else. If his intention was to prevent audiences from making a mistake and buying tickets, that mission has failed, as now I want to see it. You shouldn't make such insulting remarks, no matter how prestigious a critic you are, unless you can back them up. For example, bashing Miranda's haircut and calling her butch? What on EARTH does that have to do with the show?! And I agree with Ariel and Sylvianne, I think making Ariel a transvestite would be a nice addition...as Ariel's gender is usually up for grabs and a little confusing anyways.
Post a Comment