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Fast forward to Tuesday 17th March ….. ‘Many Moons’ since I went to the Theatre ….. looking forward to tonight’s performance of The Moon The Moon at The Curve …..
All the Best
The Moon, The Moon… I expected wistful and got troubled.
Thanks for the show which I saw tonight (Sat 4th Apr) at The Door. I thought the acting, set and lighting were great but I was less enthusiastic about the play itself. To be fair, I’ll admit to a prejudice against the f-word as an adjective or adverb rather than an expletive. It seems to me “very” is far more effective way of providing emphasis. “Fuck” is fine when you hit your thumb with a hammer but only the moronic use it to describe the hammer. That sounds prudish and priggish I know, but there you are.
After the show I was confused and a little disturbed and a little depressed. I saw nothing beautiful and the story reminded most of John Fowles novel “The Collector” – an uncomfortable read – being an inexorable descent into death of a kidnapped shop girl.
Such a reaction is not necessarily a bad thing – I don’t come to the theatre to be blandly entertained and sent away with a warm feeling and a comforting platitude. But, on the other hand, I didn’t recognise the theme of loss, grief or love within the play that I think was intended.
For me the piece seemed to concern the inability to communicate effectively. The two imprisoners were reflections of the failures of the relationship that had been lost. The unwritten and misinterpreted diary entries, the destructive repeated rituals, the violence and self-abuse, the futile imploring and blaming. The whole story seemed one of dysfunction and consequently any mourning would be a yearning for a return to a destructive past.
I wonder what Lyn Gardner will have to say in The Guardian?
Hey Kevin
Thanks for coming by here and commenting. Sincerely most appreciated.
Your ‘prejudice against the f-word’ is entirely fair. Not prudish or priggish – I’d prefer to think of it as a ‘preference’ and we’ve all got plenty of them. The judgmental leap I think you make there is in making anyone who’s ever said “fucking hammer” a moron. Which is probably a bit harsh.
I don’t know The Collector so couldn’t comment on that. And many of us have different experiences of loving, losing, grieving so we’d not expect everyone to share ours. Which aren’t even necessarily the same as that described in the play.
What we hope we’re being honest with in The Moon The Moon is the….. integrity, no…. the truthfulness of the response of The Man to the things that happen to him during the course of that story against the backdrop of a personal history that he’s experienced.
And I think you’re right about the difficulty of communication. It *is* difficult and we misunderstand and misconstrue each other all the time. Your reading of the events and characters you describe is your personal response to the play and that’s a smart and valued response and it’s brilliant that you’re able and willing to spend the time thinking about the play and your response to it in that way – especially when it’s not been an easy ride for you and it could be relatively easy to not be considered. So thankyou.
For us, the main theme in the play is about perception and how we each interpret and respond to the events in our lives to create a version of reality that is unique to each of us. Where you’ve seen dysfunction and destructiveness we’d probably prefer to see difficulty. With direct reference to the story here, we definitely don’t understand that to be a *destructive* past. Just one that was difficult at times. And we’ve often had to remind ourselves in our lives that just because some things are difficult, it doesn’t mean they are bad.
We think it’s a beautiful ending full of personal resolution. We’re also aware that it’ll probably be problematic for some people because yes it is undoubtedly also quite dark in lots of places. But hey. That’s what we done.
As for Lyn Gardner….. I’m sure she’ll have her own very smart and personal response to the show. And people who read her response will bring their own understanding to that. And so the circle of life continues….
Right, it’s my stop on the train so will have to sign off here. Thanks again for your thoughts.
Best, JON.
Thank you, Jon, for your thoughtful and kind response. I wonder how much of my own unease with violence I have projected onto the play. It was difficult for me to surrender to the moon when she was so fey, mocking and dependent on the past.
Hey, two days on and I’m still assessing my response to the piece, which has got to be a positive impact. I’m going to have to consider your beautiful ending!
I do wish you and your company the best of luck for the rest of production run.
Cheers, Kevin.