Monday, October 01, 2007

Blurbs

After my theatre experiences I thought it would be fun to look at how the theatre company promotes itself, especially with blurbs, so let us begin, these taken to start with from Soulpepper's site regarding Mary Stuart.
"A tense and thrilling production... tremendous energy, pace and point" – National Post
Sillywife and I would not entirely agree. It did have some level of energy and a slow pace. As for a point?
"A meaty, challenging play with impressive acting and direction... compelling and stylish" – CBC Radio
Well how could anyone tell?
Yanna McIntosh and Nancy Palk give performances to remember" – Toronto Star
I remember more of Palk's role in Don Carlos roughly ten years ago. I do think she was good in this play.
"Don't miss this rare staging of a classic" – NOW
Who reads NOW? I cannot believe most of the readership would be thrilled to follow this advice.
"The chance to see one of the great works of European drama illuminated by two such extraordinary performances as those of McIntosh and Palk is one no one should miss." – Eye Weekly
Who reads Eye Weekly?

Same page has some Three Sisters gorp.

"THE BEST PRODUCTION IN TORONTO THIS YEAR!
Radiant! … Electric! … Triumphantly tragicomic! … Brimming with life!" – National Post
Let me think. For me, Soulpepper's Our Town (which I saw three times! this summer) gets this but I did not see it last year. But all the competitors are Soulpepper's.
A production filled with intelligence, invention and colour… heart-wrenching and poignant” – Toronto Star
Yup - praise seems rather faint.
“Theatrical bliss!” – The Globe and Mail
Concise and to the point - I agree 100%.

As for "The Pillowman" Canadian Stage relies on a Brit review:
A play of extraordinary power
and stunning heatrical bravura."
The Daily Mail (UK)
I may find their behaviour somewhat colonial but that is one very nice description of the play. It is long but you won't fall asleep and you will face a few surprises, including a really good one near the end.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 7:35 PM

2 Comments:

At 12:11 PM, Blogger MK Piatkowski said...

Who reads Now and Eye? I do, my peers do, everyone under 45 does. I much prefer to see what Jon Kaplan has to say than any other critic in the city.

 
At 12:41 PM, Blogger Alan Adamson said...

Well, I did read them too, not that many years ago, but found it in the end somewhat unrewarding (about as unrewarding as reading the non-free newspapers). And I did read them past my 45th birthday - took me into my 50s to quit.

Did you go see Mary Stuart as a result of these rather enthusiastic reviews? Did you have the same breathless response to what I still think was one of Soulpepper's most disappointing productions? I grant that it was a unique opportunity to see one the plays known to be part of the great plays of European history. But really, I thought it was a stupid romanticization of Mary's behaviour, and nothing in the production or acting made up for that problem (the good thing perhaps, when I saw their Don Carlos, is that I knew nothing about Don Carlos).

I'll watch Jon Kaplan's reviews in the near future. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

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