TribLIVE: The spirit and enigmas of Samuel Beckett live on in Jon Fosse's “Dream of Autumn.”
Past, present and possibly the future intersect, interact and present themselves for contemplation in a vast, barren and deserted landscape in Quantum Theatre's production of this contemporary drama by a Norwegian playwright.
While little known in the United States, Fosse is revered in much of the rest of the world, where his plays have been translated into more than 40 languages.
4 comments:
The idea of a play which does not have a strictly linear progression is very interesting, because I know that depending on the medium, playing with the way the audience perceives time can be quite complicated if there isn't some sort of mechanism in place to alert the audience to where in a non-subjective timeline they are. This is much easier to be done in books, where you can explicitly state the date without violating suspension of disbelief, or television/film, where it is easier to make things go from futuristic to period in an instant. I would love to see how the director of this show managed it.
I think first I'd like to see this production to see how so many School of Drama faculty contributed to what sounds like a large and unusual place. I agree with what was said above about non-linear time sometimes being a little difficult for audiences, but it sounds like this production made that idea clear and then made it even more interesting by adding paradoxes on top of it. I am impressed that the director has chosen to take on all these challenges on top of translating the play herself. I wonder if she made a direct translation or if changed anything along the way to match the style she was going for. In any case sounds like an interesting production.
Wow! This article is most intriguing! Like, I really wish I was in Pittsburgh this weekend and saw this show. Katherine Moore (movement teacher) encouraged us all to go see it several times last week, and this Article really explains why. The whole concept of the set sounds very interesting and makes me wonder what the experience would be like watching this show, also considering that it may even be irritating or erri, I'm interested in knowing how so. I also like that the play - only an hour and forty minutes - may seem really long, but short at the same time...that seems awesome! But is it really?
I was lucky enough to not only see this show, but read the script beforehand and discuss it with not only the actors but also the scenic/costume designer afterwards. For a play that is a bit of a mindfuck, this is an achievement: I can honestly say that I understand it - mostly! Having read the script I went in knowing that the story was very non-linear, but I was still confused as to a lot of elements of the show. The set design and space choice helped solidify a lot of enigmas that come from just reading the words. The set and the space both played in very nicely to the recurring idea of memories, do they ever really die? Is your entire existence ultimately defined by how you are remembered - you aren't there to correct anyone.
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