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| Not I |
I love Beckett. His plays are so dark and deep and desperate, and yet so full of intense raw passion and energy. I always leave the theatre feeling so alive. (The repetitive structure of those last couple of sentences is, I realise, very Beckettian...) It is of course fruitless trying to explain what happens in Beckett. In his longer plays, nothing happens and yet everything happens. But today was the first time I've seen his shorter works. I witnessed the trilogy: Not I/Footfall/Rockaby, acted by Lisa Dwan. Again, pointless trying to explain, but they are essentially flashes of something - a something impossible to define.
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| Footfall |
People are put off by the common misunderstanding that Beckett's plays are heavy and intellectual. But they're not. Beckett doesn't really care about intellect, only about raw emotion. He aims to hit your nerves, not your brain. So it was fascinating being in the audience today and feeling that everyone was completely wrapped in what we were witnessing. There was barely a cough - always the key test, especially at this time of year. And wonderful to hear people talking at the end. Everyone I heard wasn't talking about what the plays were about, or what they meant; rather, the conversation was about how they'd reacted to the plays. Some people saying it had been an almost spiritual experience, others how powerful it was, how moved they were; some were shaking by the end... and I felt alive!
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| Rockaby |
Lisa Dwan's acting - just so so impressive. Especially in Not I. Her commitment to that performance is total. You sit there in utter utter darkness, not even the exit lights on. So dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. And there at the centre of the darkness is a pair of lips. And they talk at you for 10 minutes at the speed of thought, yet with such clarity and emotion that you get it - you feel it - completely.
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