Playbill: Stage and screen legend Wallace Shawn sums up his newest play thusly: “Most people have this dream of finding someone they love, finding a partner. Even for priests, monks, nuns, the Pope, it's an issue. They may want a partner, but the rules say they're not allowed to have one. But the topic would be. . . well, I don't think the Pope would be bored by my play.”
1 comment:
I don’t think this article is about “chang[ing] people’s minds” but that’s ok. This article does paint a strong picture of the man Wallace Shawn has turned out to be. The man I knew only from The Princess Bride, and My Dinner with Andre turns out to be a class conscious playwright grappling with his own privilege and trying to do his part to heal this broken world. Far out. I think it’s interesting when playwrights and actors interrogate themselves. Likewise, it seems that Shawn’s writing style is very slow and rich in theme and symbology, like a Cormac McCarthy play. While I haven’t heard or read any of Shawn’s plays, if they're similar to Dinner with Andre, then I’m sure they’re riveting and thought provoking. While the author of this article doesn’t really discuss Shawn’s works as being very impactful, he shows why they’re meaningful by relating them to Shawn’s life. A midlife reckoning with one’s place in the world is a powerful revelation to face, and it seems like Shawn has chosen to work through his beliefs and feelings by making art. I think that the more people were willing to do this the more people would have a better understanding of the world around them, their place in it, and where to go from here.
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