Saturday, March 24, 2007

There's no accounting for taste

Friedrich Durrenmatt

In case it's missed, I attach a comment I made to David's below about the OSF production of Durrenmatt's The Visit, which he found "stunning."

Interesting. I saw the same OSF production and absolutely hated it. It wasn't Durrenmatt: it was the director. The Durrentmatt play is stark and poetic, a real minimalist theatrical poetry at work, that I regard as essential to its meaning. Much of the script -- the poetry of the human trees, for example -- was cut. I despise this production as the worst I've ever seen of my favorite playwright!

I felt like burning down the playhouse after seeing this piece of shit.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess we'll be walking out of different plays. I walked out of the bulk of Portland Center Stage's productions this year.

What did you think of "Top Dog/Underdog?" I hated it in Portland and in Ashland.

Charles Deemer said...

Didn't see it. Don't go to much at PCS. Or anywhere in town, I guess.

Anonymous said...

Not all the critics felt the same way you did about "The Visit," or the way I did about "Top Dog/Underdog."

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/
regional/sanfran/s451.html

Charles Deemer said...

I speak from a playwright's bias, no doubt. But when the director SEVERELY EDITS MY FAVORITE SCENE, cutting the most poetic language in a favorite play of mine, well, I say fuck him.

Charles Deemer said...

Put another way, the production was a technological monstrosity that had little to do with Durrenmatt or his dramaturgy. I could hear him swearing from the grave, and I merely do my best to represent his interests.

Anonymous said...

I admire your passion in trying to protect the integrity of Durrenmatt's original text. I had never heard of Durrenmatt or the play before I saw the OSF production. I think I'll have to read the script to try to understand where you're coming from. I have "The visit; a tragi-comedy" translated from the German by Patrick Bowles on hold at the library.

Charles Deemer said...

Check out THE PHYSICISTS.

Yes, I did see one production of THE VISIT as bad as OSF: the film. They gave it a happy ending!

John said...

There's nothing I hate more in film adaptions than for the tone of an ending to be changed to suit audience sentiments...

Well, except for them to misunderstand the basis of a character...

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Take, for example, the recent Liam Neeson-starred version of my favorite novel "Les Miserables". All goes well until the moment Javert puts a knife to Cosette's throat going, "Where is he?"

Excuse me? In all my readings of Hugo, especially the many times I've read this particular novel (unabridged), did I miss this?

Didn't they realize in making the film what this character represents? Javert does not represent obsession (although that is there). He represents Blind Justice, whereas Valjean represents Mercy. No character representing "straight-and-narrow" would do anything outside his own belief, such as holding a knife at the throat of an helpless girl.

This single moment ruined for me a nice little bit of a film...
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But I digress...

Ending changes (sad to happy or even happy to sad) are the worst things an adaption can have. It is not only a deplorable change, but it is also an unnecessary one.

But I'm a purist, so what could I possibly know? LOL