tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post1074887679182229079..comments2023-09-20T14:34:21.102+02:00Comments on Postcards from the Gods: The Ugly One - Royal Court UpstairsAndrew Haydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-20125077772309082892007-09-27T11:14:00.000+02:002007-09-27T11:14:00.000+02:00Getting back to the design, it really is in the sa...Getting back to the design, it really is in the same league as something Topor did. Often I can barely get my head round Topor's pieces, but they fascinate me anyway. The same effect was had when I saw the poster of The Ugly One.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-3993333235090894402007-09-27T03:02:00.000+02:002007-09-27T03:02:00.000+02:00No, it was wholly unexpected and most welcome. An...No, it was wholly unexpected and most welcome. And it's Haydon, not Hayden.Andrew Haydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-27778069358730535062007-09-27T01:57:00.000+02:002007-09-27T01:57:00.000+02:00That told you, Mr. Hayden. Bet you weren't expecti...That told you, Mr. Hayden. Bet you weren't expecting the designer to come here and give you a bit of stick. Love it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-73684901116032756292007-09-23T13:30:00.000+02:002007-09-23T13:30:00.000+02:00Jeremy, I feel rather apologetic now. You're quit...Jeremy, I feel rather apologetic now. You're quite right, designers (plus lighting designers and sound designers) don't get credited nearly often enough in reviews. <BR/><BR/>You're also right that flashy design probably gets namecheck more often than subtle and/or understated work. To explain, if not excuse - such was the design of The Ugly One, which as you rightly point out, I liked a great deal - that it (stupidly) didn't strike me as 'designed'. It's like the perenial directors' complaint - if it works, the actors get the credit, and if it doesn't the director gets all the blame. Good design often goes unnoticed precisely *because* it is good. Like I say, not much of an excuse. It's good to be hauled up on these things once in a while. <BR/><BR/>And apologies for implying that the publicity image was derivative. And I will definitely get in touch with the Theatre if prints are in the offing.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for commenting. Here's to my being more rigorous in my noticing of designers' work in future.Andrew Haydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-38753826922477628672007-09-23T02:47:00.000+02:002007-09-23T02:47:00.000+02:00Enjoyed reading your review of The Ugly One despit...Enjoyed reading your review of The Ugly One despite not being credited with the (anti-) design that you seem to have appreciated, and then finding the attribution of the publicity image under question!<BR/>Good thing my sense of Self is pretty robust (at least, it was).<BR/>What about the lighting and sound designers? Don't they also merit a mention? They should get an award for restraint.<BR/>What happened to the idea of 'total theatre'? Does design have to be 'in yer face' in order to be seen as integral to the process? A good bit of theatre like this is collaborative.<BR/><BR/>Rant over. <BR/>To answer your question about the image; it came out of my head and is original, as far as I know. Perhaps I have a derivative Unconscious?<BR/>If anything it's slightly reminiscent of Topor.I'm flattered that you like it.<BR/><BR/>I might print a few copies. Contact me via the Royal Court if you'd like one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-46007838979461073122007-09-21T10:16:00.000+02:002007-09-21T10:16:00.000+02:00Alison, my knowledge of contemporary German playwr...Alison, my knowledge of contemporary German playwriting (indeed most German playwriting) is tragically sparse. It may well be that this explains a lot. I know Mike Bartlett's stuff is at least in part to do with learning from TV because I did an interview with him back in May for TheatreVoice (linked in review). I also happened to see The Ugly One with him on Monday, causing me to make the connection more readily as Mike was so enthusiastic about the play, and it struck me as significant. <BR/><BR/>Ian, re: plugs - how right you are. How silly of me.<BR/><BR/>Re: length - I can guarantee you that there is an hour-and-a-half/two-hour student production of this play out there waiting to happen. All they need to do is stick in some pauses and scene & costume changes and all that usual rubbish and it'll be feature length before you can say, well, "don't"...Andrew Haydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-57676232402975711442007-09-20T23:53:00.000+02:002007-09-20T23:53:00.000+02:00Oh, I've worn a full-body mask for years; it's now...Oh, I've worn a full-body mask for years; it's now got to around 200 lb of excess weight. <BR/><BR/>Anyway...<BR/><BR/>Yes, that cover image does look like the kind of thing John Heartfield would have photomontaged in the '30s, doesn't it? But the actual format of the plug & socket gives the lie to such a theory :-)<BR/><BR/>And apparently the play lost several minutes just in translation from German to the generally fewer syllables of EnglishIan Shuttleworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11380337075876291291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-78650507524828452462007-09-20T23:18:00.000+02:002007-09-20T23:18:00.000+02:00Wouldn't that brevity likely have more to do with ...Wouldn't that brevity likely have more to do with the modern tradition of German playwrighting, maybe inflected through contemporary UK writing (through Buchner, Wedekind, von Horvath, Kroetz and then through Kane etc) than with television? Just asking...<BR/><BR/>I can't bear photos of myself either, Ian. But at least I get to wear a mask when I go out of the house. Make-up, if you're wondering.Alison Croggonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08398213223487458758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-5354689458471436282007-09-20T18:49:00.000+02:002007-09-20T18:49:00.000+02:00I began my FT review by noting: "For some 12 or 13...I began my FT review by noting: "For some 12 or 13 years now - this is neither an exaggeration nor a joke - I have been almost entirely unable to bear seeing my own image, whether reflected or photographic. (The picture which sometimes appears by my name on this page is out of date.) I do not know whether that makes me more qualified, or less, to comment on Marius von Mayenburg's play about the commodification of image." I even suggested that it might be better if my colleague Sarah Hemming went to review it instead of me. The arts editor has told me that those opening comments have been cut for publication, because we're none of us absolutely happy with the way we look. So much for putting things clearly and explicitly.Ian Shuttleworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11380337075876291291noreply@blogger.com