Agree to disagree. Not happening. Commit to arguing about it for hours, more like. It was the case of the bike and the cow. Or more precisely the use of a bike as a cow. How does that work? you might ask. Well, it doesn't and that was my point entirely. Harvest Rain's production of
Into the Woods used a push bike as a cow. If you know the Sondheim musical you will know that a cow as white as milk has a fairly key role in the story. Note, I said COW not bike. But this production used a bike with a couple of things tied on it to represent the cow. According to Drama Teen it was all very Brechtian or minimalist or a solid representation or something. He liked the bike, understood its use, said it worked. All I saw was a bike that was supposed to be a cow but wasn't. How very literal of me. If you had been there, if you had seen it I bet that you would have thought the same (borrowing from
Chicago). While the dispute remains unresolved, the joy of the production remains undiminished. And in the way, that's the whole point of theatre. To entertain and challenge and open your mind to new ideas. That's what you pay for. Note I said pay. Which brings me to my second point. After leaving the theatre at South Bank, I paused to watch a busker. His performance name was someone Chocolate (for some reason I remember the chocolate bit and not his given name). Anyway as Mr Chocolate moved into his final fire trick he told the audience that he lived on contributions in the hat. Give what you can and if you can't afford anything come up and say thanks. People sat and watched and when he finished got up and walked away. That, I consider, is poor form. No-one is forcing you to watch but if you do then good manners at the very least dictates that you say thanks. He gave it his heart and his soul and didn't even use a bike as a cow. He should be applauded for that.
Agree to disagree. Not happening. Commit to arguing about it for hours, more like. It was the case of the bike and the cow. Or more precisely the use of a bike as a cow. How does that work? you might ask. Well, it doesn't and that was my point entirely. Harvest Rain's production of Into the Woods used a push bike as a cow. If you know the Sondheim musical you will know that a cow as white as milk has a fairly key role in the story. Note, I said COW not bike. But this production used a bike with a couple of things tied on it to represent the cow. According to Drama Teen it was all very Brechtian or minimalist or a solid representation or something. He liked the bike, understood its use, said it worked. All I saw was a bike that was supposed to be a cow but wasn't. How very literal of me. If you had been there, if you had seen it I bet that you would have thought the same (borrowing from Chicago). While the dispute remains unresolved, the joy of the production remains undiminished. And in the way, that's the whole point of theatre. To entertain and challenge and open your mind to new ideas. That's what you pay for. Note I said pay. Which brings me to my second point. After leaving the theatre at South Bank, I paused to watch a busker. His performance name was someone Chocolate (for some reason I remember the chocolate bit and not his given name). Anyway as Mr Chocolate moved into his final fire trick he told the audience that he lived on contributions in the hat. Give what you can and if you can't afford anything come up and say thanks. People sat and watched and when he finished got up and walked away. That, I consider, is poor form. No-one is forcing you to watch but if you do then good manners at the very least dictates that you say thanks. He gave it his heart and his soul and didn't even use a bike as a cow. He should be applauded for that.
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