Shopping and Fucking was Mark Ravenhill’s first full length play written in 1995. It’s first reading was at Finborough Theatre in London 1995. It premiered in 1996 at the Royal Court Upstairs in London’s West End. After its premier the production went on a national and international tour produced by Out of Joint and Royal Court. When it premiered, the play got mixed reviews. Some were shocked by the sexual violence. Other critics were drawn to the black humor of the play. This play, along with Sarah Kane’s Blasted is considered the poster children for In-Yer-Face Theatre. This play is available on Amazon.
The story focuses on Mark, a recovering drug addict who is struggling with trying to find out if feelings exist that aren’t drug induced. He is also struggling with being emotionally dependent with his lovers, Robbie and Lulu. Robbie and Lulu are in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong. They have agreed to sell ecstasy but Robbie has broken the only rule of selling drugs. Do not do the drugs you are selling. Then later he gives the drugs away at a rave and now the supplier is after them both. To try and curb his dependence on his emotions, Mark has sought out a sexual transaction. He meets Gary, an underage prostitute who has been sexually abused by his step-father causing him to be aroused by violent acts of sex.
This play is an example of what is known as In-Yer-Face Theatre. This form of theatre is described as work by playwrights who presents shocking, inappropriate, or vulgar material on stage to ingage and provoke a response from the audience to get their attention and point it towards a certain subject. So the choice to include such vulgar acts of sexual violence in this script is strictly to get a response out of the audience. Ravenhill wants the audience to feel uncomfortable because the subject matter is uncomfortable and wants the audience to notice the problem with seeing sex as a transaction rather than an intimate moment between two people. Another choice that the playwright has made was the decision to not stage the knife scene in the script. This scene would be arguable the most vulgar, disgusting example of sexual violence in the play had it been included. If Ravenhill really wanted to shock and awe the audience, that would be the way to do it. But that is not Ravenhill's only intention. If he included the knife, it would have drawn the focus away from the main point of the play and it wouldn't be about sex as a transaction rather than a play where a teenaged boy gets sexually assaulted by a knife.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Prompt 14: The Drowsy Chaperone
One element that would be different if this were simply the musical-within-the-play The Drowsy Chaperone as opposed to the as-is meta-show, as Dr. Fletcher puts it, is the sense of ambiguity. With the musical that the Man is listening to, there really is no sense of ambiguity. The protagonists, Janet and Robert, get married as well as Tottendale and Underling, Aldolpho and the drowsy chaperone, and Fieldzig to Kitty. Happy ending right? No more questions? Correct. But with the meta-show, it's not that simple. Who is the Man? All we know about him is his opinions on theatre from the beginning. And obviously, he loves The Drowsy Chaperone. But what else is there? There was a question that I shared with another classmate about the stage directions. In the end, the Man is "flown into the flies," which is a technical term used when the set piece is raised above the stage. What happens to the Man in terms of the meta-show?
Another element that would be treated differently between the two shows is duration. In the musical, so much time, I would say too much time, is spent on dance numbers, tap breaks, and a lot of other seemingly needless things. There is also the spit-take scene between Tottendale and Underling that would have taken presumably longer if the Man hadn't skipped through it. For the meta-show, most of the play is spent with the Man giving his opinions on musical theatre and specifically The Drowsy Chaperone. There is also the song "Message from a Nightingale," that would have to be in the meta-show and not the musical.
Prompt 13: Three Viewings
One common place that all three monologues mention is the Green Mill Luncheonette. In the first monologue, Emil and Tessie have lunch there. In the second monologue, Mac goes there after her grandmother's second viewing at the funeral parlor to get drunk. And in the last monologue, it is the place where Ed and Virginia first met. It is interesting how these three monologues have important moments happening in this one place.
In the first monologue, Emil and Tessie have lunch in the Green Mill. At this point in the monologue, they share a sweet moment and it seems that at this moment Emil makes the decision to finally tell Tessie how he feels. But he doesn't which is disappointing because he never ends up telling her. For the second monologue, Mac goes to the restaurant to get drunk after her grandmother's viewing. But she gets sad and depressed and leaves before she starts drinking because the person she was going to get drunk with takes off his wedding ring. After this moment, Mac goes back to her hotel and she has a dream about her dead husband where she realizes that what she is planning on doing is wrong and a is the first moment that leads to her coming to terms with her guilt for killing her family. And in the last monologue, Virginia gets upset because, among other things, she can't remember where she met her late husband. At the end of the monologue, she finds out it is at the Green Mill.
This place in Three Viewings is a symbol for love in this play. It is the place where all the love is sort of brought out or is the place where love is sparked. For the first monologue, it is the love that Emil has for Tessie is brought out here. For Mac, it is the place where things start to happen to her that makes her come to terms with her family dying. And it is the place where Virginia and Ed, a loving couple, first met. So yea, this place symbolizes the love in the play.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Prompt 9: Water by the Spoonful
A very monumental moment in Water by the Spoonful was in scene seven, when Odessa (Haikumom) and John (Fountainhead) have coffee. In the scene, Odessa is trying to coach John on how to stay clean. During this scene, Odessa shows that she isn't all friendly like in the chatroom. Nevertheless, she trys to instill some wisdom. In this scene, we see the differences in how Haikumom is seen in the chatrooms and how Odessa really.
Later in the scene, Elliot and Yaz show up and talk to Odessa about how she was supposed to pay for the flowers for her sister's funeral. After some arguing, the truth about how Odessa was comes out. Elliot goes on to explain how Odessa treated him and his now deceased sister. This is the point where Elliot and Yaz's story ties into Odessa's aand John's story. Elliot's story about Odessa further adds to the contrast between how Haikumom appears to be and how Odessa really is/was.
This was the scene that answers a lot of the plays unanswered questions about how Ellieot and Yaz's story is related to Odessa's. It clarified and in a way justified the bitterness Elliot shares with his mother and brings insight into their lives.
Later in the scene, Elliot and Yaz show up and talk to Odessa about how she was supposed to pay for the flowers for her sister's funeral. After some arguing, the truth about how Odessa was comes out. Elliot goes on to explain how Odessa treated him and his now deceased sister. This is the point where Elliot and Yaz's story ties into Odessa's aand John's story. Elliot's story about Odessa further adds to the contrast between how Haikumom appears to be and how Odessa really is/was.
This was the scene that answers a lot of the plays unanswered questions about how Ellieot and Yaz's story is related to Odessa's. It clarified and in a way justified the bitterness Elliot shares with his mother and brings insight into their lives.
Prompt 8: Buried Child
At first, Sam Shepard's Buried Child seems illusionisitc. As the play goes on, however, there are some elements that seem to suggest otherwise. The first thing that is seen is a seemingly normal house with characters that have nothing that looks odd about them except that Dodge is poorly cared for. But during the interaction of two of the characters, Dodge and Halie, an element arises that would seem out of the ordinary. In the beginning of this play, Dodge and Halie share dialogue but do not seem to be reacting to one another as the conversation goes on. It is more of talking at one another than actually conversing. And then when Tilden comes in, Halie just starts to verbally bash him without acknowledging his presence.
Another element that would imply that this play is not an example of Theatrical Realism is the ambiguous crop that gets mentioned several times. Both Halie and Dodge say that there is no crop growing in the back yard yet Tilden comes in with a basket full of corn. Then at the end of the play, Halie realizes there is a corn field out back.
There is also the case of Vince. When Vince arrives, no one seems to recognize him, not even his own father. Vince was introduced in the script as Tilden's son and when he sees his family, they are adamant that he is not a part of his family.
Through out this play there is an air of non-illusionism. Between the characters interaction, or the ambiguity within, this play is far from an illusionist play.
Another element that would imply that this play is not an example of Theatrical Realism is the ambiguous crop that gets mentioned several times. Both Halie and Dodge say that there is no crop growing in the back yard yet Tilden comes in with a basket full of corn. Then at the end of the play, Halie realizes there is a corn field out back.
There is also the case of Vince. When Vince arrives, no one seems to recognize him, not even his own father. Vince was introduced in the script as Tilden's son and when he sees his family, they are adamant that he is not a part of his family.
Through out this play there is an air of non-illusionism. Between the characters interaction, or the ambiguity within, this play is far from an illusionist play.
Prompt 12: On the Verge
For On the Verge, I would design a poster that would be intriguing yet confusing. That would make the initial feeling when seeing the play seem justified. I would probably have a jungle with several items from different time periods hanging from the trees. Not necessarily an egg beater but possibly an electric alarm clock or a computer as well as a pocket watch and maybe a jungle safari hat. And at the bottom would be the tag line "You're not of this era?"
This would be an interesting poster and while I may be biased, I would have to look into a play that had this as the poster. It is reminiscent of what the teasers for shows here at LSU have become. Not entirely related to the subject but just enough to call it a teaser.
Mr. Coffee is an interesting yet confusing character in this play. There seems to be a pattern of some sort forming. With the other male characters in the play, there is an obvious sense of who they are but with Mr Coffee it is not the case. However, some of his dialogue gives implications of who he is. In the scene with Fanny, she asks, "You're not of this era?" (seem familiar?) to which Mr. Coffee replies, "No. Not exclusively." This is the first line Coffee says that gives him the ambiguity of his character. In the same exchange with Fanny, he tells her that he has met her recently deceased husband though the audience is unaware at the time. Another line of his that hints to his identity is the line that says, "...I have no sense of time." When the audience learns of Fanny's husband's death, it can be believed that Mr. Coffee is the Angel of Death. This would explain how Mr. Coffee has met Fanny's husband.
This would be an interesting poster and while I may be biased, I would have to look into a play that had this as the poster. It is reminiscent of what the teasers for shows here at LSU have become. Not entirely related to the subject but just enough to call it a teaser.
Mr. Coffee is an interesting yet confusing character in this play. There seems to be a pattern of some sort forming. With the other male characters in the play, there is an obvious sense of who they are but with Mr Coffee it is not the case. However, some of his dialogue gives implications of who he is. In the scene with Fanny, she asks, "You're not of this era?" (seem familiar?) to which Mr. Coffee replies, "No. Not exclusively." This is the first line Coffee says that gives him the ambiguity of his character. In the same exchange with Fanny, he tells her that he has met her recently deceased husband though the audience is unaware at the time. Another line of his that hints to his identity is the line that says, "...I have no sense of time." When the audience learns of Fanny's husband's death, it can be believed that Mr. Coffee is the Angel of Death. This would explain how Mr. Coffee has met Fanny's husband.
Prompt 11: Fires in the Mirror
It is true that Fires in the Mirror is about the Crown Heights riots. But Smith was trying to do something more in writing this play. I wouldn't suggest cutting the first half of this play. For the first half, Smith focusses on the idea of identity. Each person interviewed explains their own identity and what identity means to them. The monologues also provoke the audience into thought about identity. These monologues also serve as an informer of different peoples' background and how they live. They dig into the lives of the Black community as well as the Jewish community that was involved in the riots. If the director were to start with the second half of the show, the recalling of the riots, then that would make it possible for the audience to side with one group over the other. It wouldn't let the audience see both sides of the story or how both sides view the riots. The first half of this play sets up what Smith was trying to get across to the readers. It is important to understand different aspects of a story before making quick judgments based off of something that was heard. Identity is an important part of this play as well as the events that took place during the Crown Heights riots.
Cutting the first half of this play denies the audience the chance to see both sides of the story as well as the history of the tension between the two groups involved. The first half of this play provides perspective for the audience that will be useful when the recalling of the riots begins. Instead of making the play about which side is right and which side is wrong, Smith provides an opportunity for understanding for both sides of the story of the Crown Heights riots.
Cutting the first half of this play denies the audience the chance to see both sides of the story as well as the history of the tension between the two groups involved. The first half of this play provides perspective for the audience that will be useful when the recalling of the riots begins. Instead of making the play about which side is right and which side is wrong, Smith provides an opportunity for understanding for both sides of the story of the Crown Heights riots.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)