TribLIVE: Patrick Hamilton’s play “Rope” is promoted as a thriller or suspense drama, not a mystery.
Most widely and enduringly known as a 1948 Alfred Hitchcock film, Hamilton’s 1929 stage play revolves around a kill-for-thrill murder committed by two undergraduates.
We know they’re guilty.
3 comments:
This article provides a very common, yet crucial critique. It's commonplace to mess around with the time period and setting of a play. In many cases, it's helpful to highlight that the themes of the play are timeless and worldly. For example, setting Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" in the 1950's. But, when this change-over is done, care must be taken to completely put it into one time and place or the other, instead of melding the two. By melding the two, the point of timelessness is lost. Apparently in this case, the director didn't take care in editing the script, to fit the time period, nor did the designers (costume and set in particular) put any such care into modernizing the place and solidifying it's changed time period and location. It's just a lesson learned, that when the director doesn't have a clear message or dedication to a time period change, it shouldn't be done. The creative team can't do their job, if they're getting mixed signals or unclear communication from the director.
There are a lot of critiques that are surrounding this story, which sounds captivating. The idea of the show is strong, and there is still a little bit of mystery as to whether or not these two killers will kill the rest of the family. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the director had a grasp on how to clearly and substantially control that script and design details. Those kinds of mistakes really make or break a show, even if the story is fabulous. I guess I'm sorry to hear that the critics didn't love it but sometimes I can't rely on what the critics say. The review was so off putting that I do wonder if the show was really that bad or if they are exaggerating. What I hardly ever read is the bad comments about things like the costumes. That critic must have been paying especially close attention to the details, which is impressive, unless they were really that awkward. Our class has been discussing how everyone has "that show", the show that they are embarrassed by or the show that they took a design risk on. It is part of learning and part of having a career in theater. Maybe it will be different next time.
This production sounds really confusing. First of all, the plot reminded me of "The Tell Tale Heart." The audience already knows who the murderers are, and the audience should feel anticipation as the characters begin to uncover the mystery. I feel like this kind of story is outdated and dull. I agree with Kelly that the director did not take care to edit the script. With the old British slang and a setting in contemporary Boston the play sounds very confusing. I wish the article talked a little more about how the play embodies the "disregard for life." I would like to know if the murderers had motive, or desired experimentation with human life, or killed for no reason at all. The article doesn't say much about how the characters act or respond, so I cannot fully understand the play
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