The Seafarer

[ellen_datlow]

I saw the play last night, and this clinches it. I do not like Conor McPherson as a playwright. However, he is a marvelous director and always (at least for the three plays of his I've seen) uses excellent actors and that almost makes up for my dislike of his plays. Drunks, Irish drunks. Everyone drunk drunk drunk. Falling over drunk. Obnoxiously drunk. Rick Bowes, one of my theater companions, pointed out the slight similarity in structure to The Homecoming: prodigal relative (in this case younger brother) returns home to somewhat dysfunctional home and chaos ensues.
The first act is slow, the second gets better, when a stranger comes calling (I don't want to say more, as it would give a lot away). It's NOT a ghost this time though (the other two plays I saw by McPherson were ghost stories).

I went to see the play because of the nice article about David Morse in the NY Times--I remember him in the very first movie he made: Inside Moves. Baby faced then. Baby faced now, 27 years later. He and everyone else are very good.

Comments

[leethomas.livejournal.com]

I don't know McPherson's work. I love Martin Mcdonagh's plays. I saw a couple on Broadway and caught a local performance of The Pillowman down here, and it was excellent.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I loved The Pillowman and The Lieutenant of Innishmore--I loathed The Beauty Queen of Leenane though.

[leethomas.livejournal.com]

Oh really? I dug Beauty Queen. Anyway, I think he does some great work - and The Pillowman was just awesome.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Well, let me put it this way. I was glad when the daughter finally took action :-)

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

For some reason, at first I thought you were talking about a play I read by this guy, where everyone is drunk drunk drunk, until I read the part about McPherson directing (since Synge has been dead for years and years). But I felt the need to link this anyway, just so I could say...doesn't Synge look eerily like Ben Affleck?

Ok, enough irrelevancies! I think I need sleep.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Oh I've seen or read at least one of Synge's plays many years ago.
Ooooh. He does. How weird.

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

It's like Ben Affleck: The Melancholy Years.

OK, I really am going to sleep now. Heh.

[(Anonymous)]

It wasn't just structural similarities to the Pinter play. The disreputable household and even the set reminded me of the Homecoming.

Synge was the first of the Irish (Anglo Irish in his case) playwrights. The others from O'Casey through Behan to this new generation have tended to follow his lead (and if you're talking Irish, you're talking drunk).

Rick Bowes.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Right, sorry. I forgot you mentioned the set, too.

Watching drunks gets boring after a very short while, so watching them through a whole play can be agonizing.

[(Anonymous)]

Watching is agony but being one is worse.

Rick

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Of that I have no doubt.

[(Anonymous)]

Didn't mean to send so bleak a note but I hit the button before I'd finished. What bothers my about McPherson is that he takes being drunk as a default state, even imputes to it a kind of strength and power. I'd be interested in a play with that as the theme even though I'd disagree. But that isn't what the play purports to be about.

Two plays about drunks in about a week.

The similarities to Homecoming, for me, show the influence of Pinter fifty years after his career started to take off.

Rick Bowes

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I don't recall many drunks in his other two plays that I've seen, although The Weir does take place in a bar.

Or drunks as "holy fools"? The end remarks strongly imply that the older brother knows what's going on throughout the second act.

Luckily, Sunday in the Park With George isn't about drunks ;-) btw, its' the 30th not the 29th.

[(Anonymous)]

I knew that because it's a matinee. I haven't been to a musical matinee since by god daughters were little kids. Never before or since were there such enthusiastic theater goers. They applauded the orchestra tuning up. They stood up on their seat when there was a standing ovation so they could see over the heads of the adults.

Rick