Subjects:
usual left speechless though. I am left speechless because my momma taught me that if
you have nothing good to say then don’t say anything at all. I came into this production
with an open mind to slow beginnings but by the end of the first act I had a feeling that
this entire play was going to lack dramatic intensity. The first act seemed to be nothing
more than an introduction or opening for the second act. The characters that were
introduced in the first act were interesting but never led to any real development and I had
a little laugh at the romantic interest between Donal Davoren and Minnie Powell. It was
good foreshadowing when Donal typed their two names on the piece of paper but it ended
up not leading to anything really worthwhile. The only real strong point that I found in this
play was the way it opened a window into the social fabric of the Irish Representation at
the time. The brief glimpses into the lives of the characters were one of the few things
. . .
realistic because so many people are the same way to this day.
I also felt a sense of unsureness between characters for many of the moments in the play.
All other things set aside the set design was very detailed and seemed accurate of
tenant housing of the time. It would be very challenging and I’m not quite sure of how
the director would feel about it but I would imagine that on some level the director would
allow some individual creativity in the play. His only objective seemed to be survival and he was content with
doing the bare minimum to meat this objective. As
one of the main characters of the play it would be interesting to see how I could try to
develop this character into a more believable poet and supposed gunman and how doing
so would enhance the play. I mean maybe I’m being to critical but it just
struck me as unnatural.
In conclusion it wasn’t the worst thing I have ever seen and I’m glad I got see you
in a play and I thought the actors did a good job but I will never go to see this play again
not unless they find the version that Sean O’Casey actually ment to produce
.
The character Seumas Shields played by Michael Griffiths struck me as the most
realistically presented of all the characters. It was
during the first act when he picked up and filled his cup, he then set it down and put on his
shoes did some other stuff but never took a sip of the cup.
Clearly other than some bombs at the end he did nothing else to resemble a gunman. The lighting was satisfying especially towards the end of the
play during some of the final special effects.
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