So it has become pretty obvious: School has taken over my life!
I thought I would share that my writing experiment (and requirement) for the term has been quite successful. Not only did I get a lot of feedback and support from my professor in this Theatre Criticism class, I was named the winner of the 2010 William Chadwick Prize for Theatre Criticism. Crazy! So along with the title I was given what looks to be a phenomenal book, Social Acupuncture by Darren O'Donnell. I hope to read it over the holidays and write a bit on here about his guide to art in the city.
Below is the blog review that my professor particularly enjoyed. The revised edition of the article will be published on the University of Waterloo Drama website, so I can say I'm a published theatre reviewer (apparently). Please note that in order to reach a particular audience/community I took it upon myself to create a fake blog and author. It's an interesting take on how another character would express my thoughts on the play in her own context. Or who knows, perhaps its my inner-relationship guru calling out.
Revisiting the “Relations” in Relationships
A blogger’s attempt at understanding romance and relationships in the 21st century through her everyday interactions and experiences.
It seems that ever since I began this blog about my quest to understand romantic relationships in modern society that real love (and it’s demise) has been popping up all around me. Between overhearing couples fight on my subway ride into work or constantly receiving “Find your Soul mate” emails from E-Harmony I can’t seem to avoid the fact that romantic relationships dominate the subject matter of our lives. I hear it from all angles, how complicated things get, how blissfully easy relationships are, how happy couples are together, and how much happier people are without their ex-lovers.
Sometimes love hurts, and after seeing The Confessions of Punch and Judy, a play by Number Eleven Theatre company, I was reminded about how crazy relationships can get, especially those portrayed in the theatre. Loosely inspired by the classic Victorian puppet pair, Confessions explores the marriage of a modern Punch and Judy. During the 19th century the couple’s relationship was household knowledge for Victorian families having seen their turbulent and violent episodes performed on the streets regularly. Punch’s violence and Judy’s nagging epitomized the “struggle for the breeches” that the people were experiencing as men fought to reassert their masculinity in relationships.
For modern Punch and Judy things are not solved by Punch murdering Judy for scolding him. Life for the two of them in the 21st century is a bit more complicated. The play follows the couple over an evening of fighting and questioning their marriage. This physical-theatre piece utilized the actors’, Tannis Kowalchuk (Judy) and Ker Wells (Punch), movement abilities as they morphed from the realistic characters to their arguing alter-egos in overtly physical fashions. The actors’ physical stamina and poise are put to the test in this performance, but they both deliver exceptionally. Through highly stylized masque work, mime and dance Punch and Judy express their deep anger and disappointment in their relationship. Each break from reality searched deeper into the cause of their anger and intensified the tension between them. What would normally be perceived as an ideal relationship by outsiders is slowly broken down, and their home becomes the battlefield.
The play takes place in their home which was modestly represented by a pair of “his and hers” chairs and a table. Punch and Judy are respectively represented by blue and red in both costume and their chairs. These colours represent their method of dealing with relationship conflict, both hot and cold, while the colour yellow (shown as a table between their two arenas) acts as a pacifying and neutral zone. Each time the characters broke away from reality the lighting abruptly changed to a brighter intensity, while creating cartoon-like shadows on the actors faces. Paired with the primary coloured set, the light design brought the outrageous scenes to life and played up its comedic nature. How gracefully the actors and their surroundings transformed into this cartoon parallel universe had me thinking about how easily real life relationships can spiral into a hateful combat zone.
Perhaps the most poignant scene showed Punch and Judy animatedly explaining their unhappiness to one another, whilst accusing each other of not listening. What followed was a beautifully choreographed scene of the pair performing their partner’s movements while telling different dialogue each time. It illustrated their ability to copy one another but to be unable or unwilling to truly understand each other’s plight. Despite going through the motions of togetherness the couple perpetuates their demise as they stubbornly refuse to listen and work as a team. This idea of not listening is carried on throughout the performance.
In the hours after seeing Confessions, I began thinking about marital expectations and the “perfect couple”. Outwardly Punch and Judy seem to be a happy modern couple who strive towards a blissful future while behind closed doors they resent one another. They seem to think that this should come easy to them, and at the sign of trouble and the need to work to improve themselves they instantly choke up and become defensive. Their communication immediately crumbles and progress is at a standstill. The goal to be perfect seems to be responsible for the breakdown of their relationship. I see this in people’s relationships all over the city and I can’t help but wonder why we as a society hold these ideals so high. The original Punch and Judy were not a couple to be admired, their story acted as a moral tale to teach people how not to behave in a marriage. This modern Punch and Judy do the same, but in more depth and debate over the role of individuals in a conventional relationship.
The love between Punch and Judy in The Confessions of Punch and Judy was obviously misunderstood. Their communication seemed to only be physical when what they truly needed was to talk and to listen. Perhaps we should take this away from the piece, that regardless of the relationship you find yourself in, listening and communicating are keys to success in the 21st century matters of love. If in the end the world’s most dysfunctional couple, Punch and Judy, can attempt it I can’t see why the rest of us can’t give it a try.
For a small clip of the show please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjV0gKwv1hQ
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