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The theme for this weekend was umbrellas, despite the clear weather. The Rhinoceros used black umbrellas and dozens of red umbrellas that seemed to multiply as the story continued. They also win my first annual award for Best Use of an Umbrella in a Drama, as they dropped from above and opened, or were thrown inside out, then closed. Then Twelfth Night had a scene where a white parasol was used to drive someone away, point at the interloper as it opened and closed. And an art installation currently at the Cambridge Multicultural Center features clear umbrellas with red devils on them.
Dec. 19th, 2005
Motza'i Shabbat I went to the last performance of The Rhinoceros (Eugene Ionesco) at the Loeb Ex. All I knew about it beforehand is that he's a French absurdist playwright, so there was no knowing how strange it might be. As it turned out, the premise is rather simple: what happens in town when a rhinoceros walks through? And then another. And then it becomes clear that people in town are turning into rhinoceri.
It's much stranger than that, however, at least how it was produced here. The show had one large rhino tusk that fell over when the first rhinoceros came through. Rhinoceri passing by were impossible to miss, since there was a huge noise, loud or deep enough to be not just a noise, but felt through the body. I had to hold my ears each time. The playwright did not feel constrained to have only one conversation going at a time, which sometimes happened while rhinoceri were running. In the first two scenes there was one character speaking French, which confused me: was this in another language when presented in French? Or was these character's lines not translated for a reason?
The stage was interesting. Usually, the audience is seated along one, two, or three sides in a rectangular theater. This time, we were all in a corner, the rows having right angles to them. This allowed an area for cafe tables, and a staircase straight up to the catwalk, which was set up as an office. We were asked to leave for intermission, as the stage area was changed about, sliding the staircase closer to the audience, leaving a huge space backed with lots of plastic, and having a field of red umbrellas.
The play starts with two friends, one a rather self-righteous prig, the other someone who drinks to escape his feeling that his body isn't quite his own. Despite this, he resists when those around him are becoming rhinoceri (people carry black umbrellas, while rhinos carry red ones (of course :-)). People choose to change for lots of different reasons, but he clings to the skin that he's never quite felt comfortable calling his own.
Other than an office scene where there's one of those absolutely annoying people who must contradict and be pedantic about everything, there were two scenes that stood out for me. The first was the prig going rhinoceros, slowly changing his body and his language. The other was the last scene, where the field of red umbrellas were augmented as people above walked on mesh above the stage, up in the lighting, and dropped umbrellas down on strings, each opening partway down. And at the end, how each actor stood from the field of red, holding his red umbrella straight above, then thrusting it out to the right to turn it inside out, pivoting to face the audience, then folding the umbrella up.
It was interesting, and I'd be interested to see another production of it someday, for comparison.
It was also unintentionally bloody: a couple of actors got noticeable cuts during the performance which definitely weren't in the script.
It's much stranger than that, however, at least how it was produced here. The show had one large rhino tusk that fell over when the first rhinoceros came through. Rhinoceri passing by were impossible to miss, since there was a huge noise, loud or deep enough to be not just a noise, but felt through the body. I had to hold my ears each time. The playwright did not feel constrained to have only one conversation going at a time, which sometimes happened while rhinoceri were running. In the first two scenes there was one character speaking French, which confused me: was this in another language when presented in French? Or was these character's lines not translated for a reason?
The stage was interesting. Usually, the audience is seated along one, two, or three sides in a rectangular theater. This time, we were all in a corner, the rows having right angles to them. This allowed an area for cafe tables, and a staircase straight up to the catwalk, which was set up as an office. We were asked to leave for intermission, as the stage area was changed about, sliding the staircase closer to the audience, leaving a huge space backed with lots of plastic, and having a field of red umbrellas.
The play starts with two friends, one a rather self-righteous prig, the other someone who drinks to escape his feeling that his body isn't quite his own. Despite this, he resists when those around him are becoming rhinoceri (people carry black umbrellas, while rhinos carry red ones (of course :-)). People choose to change for lots of different reasons, but he clings to the skin that he's never quite felt comfortable calling his own.
Other than an office scene where there's one of those absolutely annoying people who must contradict and be pedantic about everything, there were two scenes that stood out for me. The first was the prig going rhinoceros, slowly changing his body and his language. The other was the last scene, where the field of red umbrellas were augmented as people above walked on mesh above the stage, up in the lighting, and dropped umbrellas down on strings, each opening partway down. And at the end, how each actor stood from the field of red, holding his red umbrella straight above, then thrusting it out to the right to turn it inside out, pivoting to face the audience, then folding the umbrella up.
It was interesting, and I'd be interested to see another production of it someday, for comparison.
It was also unintentionally bloody: a couple of actors got noticeable cuts during the performance which definitely weren't in the script.