cultural_philistine
HAL_9000Review of The Small Things (Splinter Theatre Company)
September 10th 2007 02:27
Cultural_philistine interviews HAL_9000 for thoughts on The Small Things, which has just finished its run at Belvoir Downstairs.
Were you bored?
That's not a nice question.
Be honest. Were you?
There were parts when I was trying to understand where the story was leading to or there were split seconds when I was bored.
My problem was not with the actors but more with the script. I thought the actors did very well with the script.
So you were bored.
That's a lawyer question. I don't want to answer lawyer questions.
Did the pace pick up at any point?
It picked up and slowed down then picked up again. In places it was sort of difficult to follow exactly what had happened.
And I think it's a very demanding play on the actors because everything is created through them, and their experience and belief in the story is what holds it together.
Were you moved by it?
Oh, that's a good question. I suppose the most graphic part is when you find out initially that the chip-shop man has just killed his son and ripped out his tongue, and that's a shock because firstly it's violent and secondly it's the first indication that this play is not strictly based on reality and is in some ways symbolic or dreamlike. From that point onwards the play becomes more like a nightmare and less like reality.
I'm going to read you the blurb from the Belvoir website. Tell me what you think.
"Two houses, perched on top of mountains, stare at each other across a deep valley."
They're not in the same house?
No.
Okay, I sort of got that, but then why don't they live together? They fell in love with each other, why aren't they living together? What happened?
"Prompted by their alarm clocks, a woman and a man tell their story and talk about the small things -- the parquet floor zigzagging down corridors, the memory of mother’s breasts, the first time they fell in love with each other as children. But these minutiae disguise a bigger story of horrific brutality in their village, of people’s desire for order at the cost of humanity and of unfaltering loyalty which emerges painfully through the chit-chat.
After global success with his plays Disco Pigs and Bedbound, Enda Walsh is considered one of the most exhilarating playwrights of his generation."
Really? I don’t know whether I would go that far …
"The Small Things is a poignant exploration of language and our need for words to create meaning, to remember our past and to survive." The Guardian says "This is a small play about the big things and the writing is harrowingly precise and poetic.” And something called "Time Out (UK)" says “In part a comic tour de force… and in part a numbing horror story”.
Right.
So what do you think of that description?
I think this is a play for a highly select audience of highly theatre-literate people who are very well read and have an appreciation for absurdist plays. I don’t think it's a play for the average person in the street.
It requires more patience than the average play. More patience and more brain work by the audience.
Why aren't they living in the same house?
I got from the play that they were physically separated after the incident with the shoes and independently found houses.
See, that bit of the play doesn't work for me. I don't care how brilliant this playwright is. He really expects the audience to do some overtime here with figuring out what on earth --
Well, I got it.
Good for you.
So, the male actor (Ralph Cotterill) you'll know as "Pop" from "Bad Boy Bubby"?
I remember him now...
He's clearly very experienced. What did you make of him?
Well I thought he did very well with a difficult role. When he was confined basically the whole performance to his seat and has to be entertaining... And it requires rather a lot of self-control.
Did you notice him crying?
Yes.
Why was he crying?
Well... I thought he was crying because of the violence, and because the violence transformed him into someone he didn’t like…
Okay... did you dislike the female lead (Annie Byron)?
No.
Are you sure?
Why? Didn't you enjoy her performance?
I wasn't blown away by her.
I thought she was very good. When she was talking to the little figurines and waiting for them to talk back at her that was just fantastic.
Did you like the window?
It was used to great effect.
Did you like the sound?
Yes, it was subtle and effective but not overpowering.
Did you like the alarm clocks?
I know it was about routine but they seemed almost gratuitous to me. Maybe I just missed the point of it but I don't know what the clocks are meant to represent... Routine or order or I don't know. I suppose they weren't too irritating.
You didn't think they gave structure to the play?
I suppose they do.
What about the set?
It's clever.
You liked the floors, right?
Yes, the lighting through the floor.
How did you feel after the play?
I think the absurdism made it more difficult for me to follow and I was trying to understand what the playwright was trying to say … from the blurb that seemed to be that the ability to communicate is the highest pinnacle of being or civilization.
You keep saying that it's absurdist. Is it?
Well it's not literal.
Why not?
Okay, well it doesn't have... It's an indistinct time and place. There's a sense in which this is a situation that could happen anywhere.
Could it be described as fantasy rather than absurdism?
Perhaps, yes, perhaps.
Did you like the "poetic language"?
Give me an example... "Chit chat"? If it's a highly developed poetic piece it's lost on me.
What was the most memorable moment?
When she's looking down at her figurines waiting for them to talk back at her. The look on her face... I mean the facial expressions were just amazing.
So it was none of the blood and gore and drama? It was the figurines?
Well it was the little things.
The Small Things was playing from Thursday 16 August to Sunday 9 September at Belvoir St Theatre.
Writer -- Edna Walsh
Director -- Sarah Goodes
Set design - Karla Urizar
Lighting design -- Verity Hampson
Sound design -- John Blake
Featuring: -
Annie Byron and Ralph Cotterill
Further reading:
-- Belvoir St Theatre
-- SMH review
-- What's on in Sydney
-- Daily Telegraph
-- Aussietheatre.com
~~~
Were you bored?
That's not a nice question.
Be honest. Were you?
There were parts when I was trying to understand where the story was leading to or there were split seconds when I was bored.
My problem was not with the actors but more with the script. I thought the actors did very well with the script.
So you were bored.
That's a lawyer question. I don't want to answer lawyer questions.
Did the pace pick up at any point?
It picked up and slowed down then picked up again. In places it was sort of difficult to follow exactly what had happened.
And I think it's a very demanding play on the actors because everything is created through them, and their experience and belief in the story is what holds it together.
Were you moved by it?
Oh, that's a good question. I suppose the most graphic part is when you find out initially that the chip-shop man has just killed his son and ripped out his tongue, and that's a shock because firstly it's violent and secondly it's the first indication that this play is not strictly based on reality and is in some ways symbolic or dreamlike. From that point onwards the play becomes more like a nightmare and less like reality.
I'm going to read you the blurb from the Belvoir website. Tell me what you think.
"Two houses, perched on top of mountains, stare at each other across a deep valley."
They're not in the same house?
No.
Okay, I sort of got that, but then why don't they live together? They fell in love with each other, why aren't they living together? What happened?
"Prompted by their alarm clocks, a woman and a man tell their story and talk about the small things -- the parquet floor zigzagging down corridors, the memory of mother’s breasts, the first time they fell in love with each other as children. But these minutiae disguise a bigger story of horrific brutality in their village, of people’s desire for order at the cost of humanity and of unfaltering loyalty which emerges painfully through the chit-chat.
After global success with his plays Disco Pigs and Bedbound, Enda Walsh is considered one of the most exhilarating playwrights of his generation."
Really? I don’t know whether I would go that far …
"The Small Things is a poignant exploration of language and our need for words to create meaning, to remember our past and to survive." The Guardian says "This is a small play about the big things and the writing is harrowingly precise and poetic.” And something called "Time Out (UK)" says “In part a comic tour de force… and in part a numbing horror story”.
Right.
So what do you think of that description?
I think this is a play for a highly select audience of highly theatre-literate people who are very well read and have an appreciation for absurdist plays. I don’t think it's a play for the average person in the street.
It requires more patience than the average play. More patience and more brain work by the audience.
Why aren't they living in the same house?
I got from the play that they were physically separated after the incident with the shoes and independently found houses.
See, that bit of the play doesn't work for me. I don't care how brilliant this playwright is. He really expects the audience to do some overtime here with figuring out what on earth --
Well, I got it.
Good for you.
So, the male actor (Ralph Cotterill) you'll know as "Pop" from "Bad Boy Bubby"?
I remember him now...
He's clearly very experienced. What did you make of him?
Well I thought he did very well with a difficult role. When he was confined basically the whole performance to his seat and has to be entertaining... And it requires rather a lot of self-control.
Did you notice him crying?
Yes.
Why was he crying?
Well... I thought he was crying because of the violence, and because the violence transformed him into someone he didn’t like…
Okay... did you dislike the female lead (Annie Byron)?
No.
Are you sure?
Why? Didn't you enjoy her performance?
I wasn't blown away by her.
I thought she was very good. When she was talking to the little figurines and waiting for them to talk back at her that was just fantastic.
Did you like the window?
It was used to great effect.
Did you like the sound?
Yes, it was subtle and effective but not overpowering.
Did you like the alarm clocks?
I know it was about routine but they seemed almost gratuitous to me. Maybe I just missed the point of it but I don't know what the clocks are meant to represent... Routine or order or I don't know. I suppose they weren't too irritating.
You didn't think they gave structure to the play?
I suppose they do.
What about the set?
It's clever.
You liked the floors, right?
Yes, the lighting through the floor.
How did you feel after the play?
I think the absurdism made it more difficult for me to follow and I was trying to understand what the playwright was trying to say … from the blurb that seemed to be that the ability to communicate is the highest pinnacle of being or civilization.
You keep saying that it's absurdist. Is it?
Well it's not literal.
Why not?
Okay, well it doesn't have... It's an indistinct time and place. There's a sense in which this is a situation that could happen anywhere.
Could it be described as fantasy rather than absurdism?
Perhaps, yes, perhaps.
Did you like the "poetic language"?
Give me an example... "Chit chat"? If it's a highly developed poetic piece it's lost on me.
What was the most memorable moment?
When she's looking down at her figurines waiting for them to talk back at her. The look on her face... I mean the facial expressions were just amazing.
So it was none of the blood and gore and drama? It was the figurines?
Well it was the little things.
~~~
The Small Things was playing from Thursday 16 August to Sunday 9 September at Belvoir St Theatre.
Writer -- Edna Walsh
Director -- Sarah Goodes
Set design - Karla Urizar
Lighting design -- Verity Hampson
Sound design -- John Blake
Featuring: -
Annie Byron and Ralph Cotterill
~~~
Further reading:
-- Belvoir St Theatre
-- SMH review
-- What's on in Sydney
-- Daily Telegraph
-- Aussietheatre.com
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