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Film and the Arts
"Love is my sin" Reinterprets Shakespeare's Sonnets
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Saturday, 10 April 2010 20:09
- Written by Lucy Komisar
Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted and directed by Peter Brook
Starring Natasha Parry, Michael Pennington
Creating a richness in their arrangement that adds to the beauty of each poem, director Peter Brook has ordered 31 Shakespearean sonnets, dramatically recited by Natasha Parry and Michael Pennington, to create a striking theater piece. It elegantly expresses love as it consumes men and women in the highs and lows of their relationships and into their later years. The poems are grouped to praise love that lasts through time and to plumb the pain of separation; the torments of jealousy, self-deception, and guilt; and the sorrows of older age. That doesn't quite make a play, but it sets new standards for poetry reading.
The set is simple, some wood tables, chairs and stools on a Persian rug. Parry, who is Brook's wife, wears black slacks and a long coat with swirls in the back. Pennington has a sweater over his black trousers. Franck Krawczyk sets off the poems with the 17th-century music of Louis Couperin on accordion and keyboard.
Under Brook's sharp but subtle direction, in which the drama enhances but never effaces the lines, the actors play to each other and against each other. They move close; they drift or march apart. They are sensitive and they are furious. They are anxious. Sometimes they are forgiving. Pennington seems to suffer more. Parry gets angrier.
There's a sense of Shakespeare looking back. The first section, Devouring Time, reflects on the love and beauty that lasts even in the lover's thoughts, which makes losses disappear. It compares the speaker to "Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang." The lover knows that time will take his love away: "This thou perceiv'st which makes thy love more strong/ to love that well which though must leave ere long."
Separation brings conflicting emotions. There is pain felt by a lover who waits like a slave and a fool, regardless of what the beloved may be doing. Alternatively, there is joy at thinking of the loved one: "For thy sweet love rememb'red such wealth brings/ that then I scorn to change my state with Kings." Or sorrow: "…thou away, the very birds are mute." And on a journey, "My grief lies onward and my joy behind." And "..my thoughts (from far where I abide) intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee." (Just compare that with "Wish you were here!")
But then Jealousy arises, and with it protest, disillusion, self-deception. Parry disputes: "Canst thou, O cruel, say I love thee not/ when I against myself with thee partake?" Pennington is distraught. But perhaps the object of love is unworthy: "For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright/who art as black as hell, as dark as night." And "So shall I live, supposing thou art true,/like a deceived husband; so loves' face / may still seem love to me, though altered new." "Thou mayst be false, and yet I know it not."
One might pretend: "Therefore I lie with her, and she with me, / and in our faults by lies we flattered be." Or worry: ‘"For thee watch I, whilst thou dost wake elsewhere,/ from me far off, with others all too near."
Or ask forgiveness: "Alas 'tis true, I have gone here and there," says Pennington on bended knee. It made him young, he admitted. Parry pushes him to the floor! But there is half regret: "Enjoyed no sooner but despised straight." And besides, the other is just as guilty: "..those lips of thine, / that have profaned their scarlet ornaments,/ and sealed false bonds of love as oft as mine." Finally, he persuades her not to hate: " ‘I hate' From hate away she threw,/ and saved my life, saying ‘not you'." Parry moves from the fury of the first "I hate" to the softness of the last forgiveness.
And lastly comes Time Defied, about death. Their faces are drawn and pensive. One asks a lover to forget "If thinking on me then should make you woe." But in another verse, the man wonders why she pines within but is "painting thy outwards wall so costly gay?" In the end love is "an ever-fixed mark/ that looks on tempests and is never shaken." And, Shakespeare finishes that sonnet with an undeniable avowal: "If this be error and upon me proved,/ I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
"Love is my sin"
Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord (Paris)/Theatre for a New Audience
The Duke on 42nd Street
229 West 42nd Street
New York City, New York
646-223-3010.
Opened April 1, 2010; closes April 17, 2010
For more by Lucy Komisar: TheKomisarScoop.com
Photos: Pascal Victor
On the Death and Rebirth of Punk Legends
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Saturday, 10 April 2010 14:02
- Written by Alex Smith
John Lydon's resurrected Public Image Ltd. performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live recently. The former Johnny Rotten, Lydon has 
withstood a lot of criticism for daring to christen this current ensemble PiL given the pointed absence of original members Keith Levene and Jah Wobble, but as the vocalist himself pointed out to Jimmy Kimmel, there have been 39 members in the band over the years.
Regardless, even with the inclusion of former Damned/Shriekback guitarist Lu Edmonds (who played with PiL circa the Bill Laswell-produced Album album and tour), it's hard to get excited about a PiL "reunion" featuring a rhythm section of unknowns (couldn't John have tried to patch things up with original drummer Martin Atkins?).
In any case, to a gathered throng of what looked like disinterested Nickeblack fans, nu-PiL took the stage (flanked by Bud Light banners). If you're interested, you can see them play "Rise" here and watch Kimmel talk with John here. PiL's Kimmel performance served as an opening salvo of sorts for their impending tour of North America. One wonders if this morning's news of the death of Lydon's former manager/svengali/nemesis, Malcolm McLaren will overshadow proceedings.
The loss of McLaren made for some sad news. Sure, he was dutifully reviled by never-say-die punk purists for allegedly fleecing the Sex Pistols and meticulously choreographing their messy implosion, but how much of that legend is actually genuine? I'll leave that to the rock historians to ponder.
McLaren gets less credit for other contributions like Bow Wow Wow, "Double Dutch" and the Fans album (among other things).
I'd actually seen the man here in New York City a couple of times. Far from the conniving swindler he's usually portrayed as, he usually looked like a dapper fop. The last time I encountered him was as recently as last summer. I was deep in the bowels of Penn Station, rushing to meet my wife and kids as they arrived from a spell in Long Island. As I was descending a flight of stairs to the platform, up came a nattily dressed McLaren.
"Malcolm!" I instinctively (and somewhat presumptuously) exclaimed. He flinched as if I was about to hit him. I felt quite sorry for that, and saluted him as I continued down the steps. I'd imagine Sex Pistols fans have given him a lot of unsolicited grief over the years.
Kevin's Digital Week 19: Carey, Abbott and Costello
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Monday, 05 April 2010 05:00
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-Ray of the Week
An Education
(Sony)
Lone Scherfig’s bittersweetly comic drama about a high-school girl’s difficult coming-of-age in pre-Beatles London, 1963, is a brilliant showcase for the scene-stealing lead performance of Carey Mulligan, who should have won Best Actress over Sandra Bullock. Mulligan creates a rare intelligent, headstrong teenage character, painfully exposing her vulnerabilities and fears, hopes and dreams, and joys and harsh realities; it‘s one of the great screen performances of recent years. An Education also gains immeasurably from Peter Sarsgaard’s portrayal of the girl’s slick but callow suitor, and flawless support by Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams, Cara Seymour, Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike. Nick Hornby’s literate script comes from Lynn Barber‘s memoir.
Sony has given An Education a stellar Blu-ray transfer and an assortment of good but unexceptional special features. The commentary by director Scherfig and leads Mulligan and Sarsgaard is worth listening to, and the handful of deleted scenes is a nice bonus, even if it’s easy to see why they were cut.
A short on-set featurette and brief interviews on the red carpet at the film’s premiere round out the extras.
DVD of the Week
The Abbott and Costello Show—The Complete Series
(E1)
For many, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello need no introduction. Their classic comedy routines and television and movie appearances are legendary. And now, with the release of The Abbott and Costello Show—The Complete Series, new fans can enter the fold. With 52 episodes from the show’s two seasons (1952-3), restored and remastered on nine discs, this set is a must-have for fans of Bud and Lou and classic TV comedy like The Honeymooners or Lucy.
All their best routines are here, from “Who’s on First” and Niagara Falls to Mustard and the Lemon Bit. In addition, there are three hours’ worth of special features, including the Hey Abbott! 1978 TV retrospective hosted by Milton Berle and featuring Steve Allen, Joe Besser and Phil Silvers; a Season One classic routines reel; rare home movies from the Costello family archive; the restored 1948 short film 10,000 Kids and a Cop (documenting the Lou Costello, Jr. Youth Foundation‘s philanthropic work); and interviews with sons Chris and Paddy Costello.
A 44-page commemorative book gives some invaluable series history, and four collectible postcards are included. At a bargain-basement price, this set is a keeper.
Valerie Harper Is a Brilliant Tallulah in "Looped"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Sunday, 04 April 2010 23:34
- Written by Lucy Komisar
Written by Matthew Lombardo
Directed by Rob Ruggiero
Starring Valerie Harper, Brian Hutchison, Michael Mulheren
Valerie Harper channels Tallulah Bankhead. Her acting is so on the mark, so mesmerizing, that you would swear that the '30s stage and screen actress had come back to life. Her wit biting and risqué; her intelligence sharp; her vulgarity in your face, her talent opulent make you wish you had lived in her time.
The device of Matthew Lombardo's play is that she's been called to an audio studio to record a bit of film dialogue that got mangled in the screen cut. That's called doing a loop. But Talllulah seems a bit looped herself as she gives editor Danny (Brian Hutchison) a frustrating bout of dealing with the grande dame. Director Rob Ruggiero deserves praise for turning a long moment into a fascinating two hours.
She is better at one-liners than recording the one line. Everything in New York is numbered, she declares. "You get lost in New York, you don't deserve to be found." And, "I introduced a friend of mine as Martini; her name was Olive." She acknowledges that she is bisexual: "Buy me something, I'll be sexual."
In her gaunt face and clingy silk dress, and a trademark wide lip-sticked mouth that seems to be in a permanent grimace, Harper is brilliant as a bit-over-the-hill aging Southern woman who drinks too much and sleeps around too much for that era.
When set designer Adrian W. Jones' recording studio suddenly morphs to reveal the wrought iron balconies and shutters of New Orleans, she is Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire. Ah, yes! And she played her.
I would have cut out the forced surprise secret past confessional by Danny, which is jarring and unnecessary and seems like a political statement by the playwright rather than part of the Bankhead story.
Looped
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
New York, NYC
212-239-6200
Opened March 14, 2010.
For more by Lucy Komisar: TheKomisarScoop.com
