As part of the same student festival in which the production of Equus was done last week, this week I saw an abbreviated Cuckoo's Nest. Given these were students (i.e. novice directors and actors), it was a decent production. Whoever shortened the script, however, made a grievous error, in my humble opinion, by omitting the water cooler-thing. For those who know the story, I wonder if you are as upset as I am about it.
It was interesting to see two productions of psychosis in two weeks. Playing crazy is dangerous territory for an actor because there are lots of indicating illness that come up rather than embodying it. Some of the students handled it quite well. The accents were hilarious! Southern US accents coming out of Irish students. Some of them were quite good. I have mixed feelings about the Chief's accent. The tattoo on his back was great, though, and an interesting choice for helping to establish credibility for this actor who doesn't fit stereotypical Native American looks.
There was some very irresponsible stage combat. (Mary, you would've been so upset!) I almost went to find the director, but they only have two more performances. I may make casual inquiries tomorrow, mostly for the actor's safety. After a dangerous stomach punch, I was anxious in the back of my mind for the rest of the piece until the strangle moment came. And, as expected, it was completely unsafe.
I am glad I went to see it, if only to be reminded how much I enjoyed Ken Kesey's book (which was not credited on the flier). If anyone knows the story behind the adaptation, please let me know. It seems odd to me that Kesey, who is a playwright, didn't adapt his own book for the stage.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment