| Blaste'
Review
By Mary Ann Swartz and Barb Carlos
Hello Royettes,
I have been meaning to send this to the list all
week, but have not had a spare minute. I went to Boston last weekend to see my
friend Barb, and we drove to Montreal and saw Blasté last Friday night, March
21st. We were actually in Montreal less than 24 hours, and when we returned to
Boston, we worked on a short debrief of the play together and sent it to the
APR list from Barb's email account. She didn't have the email any longer, so I
offered to send it to the Royettes list. But, you know how it is when you are
away - it seems to take you at least a few days to get caught up on
everything! ! That's what I am doing this weekend, trying to catch up :) So,
here is what Barb and I wrote together about the play, and it's also about my
trip, since it was my first time in Massachusetts, Vermont & New Hampshire :)
*************
It's Barb and Mary Anne, back in Boston after our
short trip to Montreal to see Blasté last night. Actually it's Mary Anne,
typing on Barb's computer, and all you who know me, know how I feel about PC's
:X I had a great into flight Boston - my first trip here! Just
driving around the city I've already seen things like Fenway Park and the
Bunker Hill Memorial. Tomorrow we may drive to the Kennedy Library and
possibly North End. We drove up through New Hampshire and Vermont - absolutely
gorgeous!! Two more states I have never been in before. The mountains and the
little towns were really beautiful. The weather was another matter entirely!!
We drove through snow, fog, sunshine, more snow, more sun, and all the time
strong wind! You should see the car! Barb could barely see out of the windows
at times! I did take some pictures though the car windows (when the windows
were clean) that came out surprisingly well!
Montreal still has remnants of all of the snow they
have had, including the great blizzard of 08 that also visited Ohio. The worst
effects for us - well, me - were the icy sidewalks. I had no sooner set two
feet out of the car than I fell on the ice in the parking lot next to the Lord
Berri Hotel! I'm basically fine - just a little sore from that tumble. But
those of you going up next weekend, unless it warms up quite a bit, please be
careful!
Here's our take on the play - spoilers ahead for
anyone who doesn't want to read further!
Our seats were fifth row, center. They were perfect
seats - right at eye level with the actors.
First of all, neither Barb nor I consider ourselves
professional critics - this is strictly our personal opinion - we felt it was
a five-star performance by every cast member! The set and special effects are
amazing, and add so much to the ambiance of the play. For those of you, like
us, who've read the text of the play, and found it very disturbing or
shocking, you will find that Blasted is presented on stage in a way that is
much easier to watch than it was to read. For example, by now, through the
reviews (by "real" critics) as well as debriefs posted by others who've
attended, you know that early in the play, Roy disrobes and you see him nude
from the back. That's it. That is the only time, you see any nudity. He has
his shirt off quite a bit, and he appears out of the shower in a towel a
couple of times in a towel, but there is no additional nudity. All of the
other sex scenes are done very tastefully, with the actors positioned away
from the audience or positioned in a way so that the act was implied but
nothing was revealed.
The particularly violent parts of the play, the ones
most disturbing to read, occurred during blackouts.
What blew us away was how Celine "became" Cate; she
owned that character. She was just amazing to watch in person. The seizures
the character has, the infantile regression the character goes through,
how conflicted Cate is about Ian, and then there were her fits of giggling
that were so contagious the audience would laugh along with her! We've
both always liked her as an actress, but seeing her perform on stage made such
an impact, and provided us the chance to see how talented she is first hand.
Now for Roy - as usual, Roy "becomes" Ian. His
voice is different; deeper, raspier; think of what gin-soaked would sound
like. His body is heavier and less toned because that is what is fitting for
the character he is portraying. Ian is someone who has led a hard life; he's
not taken care of himself, and is seriously ill (probably lung cancer). As
Barb says, he's also wracked with guilt.
This role has to be completely exhausting for Roy -
emotionally, physically and mentally. He is on stage the entire play.
Roy plays Ian with complete conviction; the screams he must evoke at
certain points in the play are blood-curdling. As Ian, Roy displays an
incredible range of emotion.
Roy seemed very comfortable on stage, and seemed to
enjoy performing for a live audience.
Paul, who plays the soldier, was very, very good in
the role. Barb and I agree, though, we could not have seen Roy in the role of
the soldier!
When the play ended, all three actors came to the
edge of the stage to take their bows. All three stood straight and tall and
bowed at the waist - I don't think I have ever seen Roy have such good posture
as he held during the bows! By the second bow, many in the audience were
standing, including Barb and myself. Roy held the straight-as-an-arrow posture
through the four bows the actors took last night, and by the fourth bow, Roy
was smiling :) All three exited stage left together.
It was a riveting performance. We felt exhausted too,
by the end, and sat back down for a few minutes to let the theater clear a bit
before we headed out. It's emotional, but it is not hard to watch at all. We
are both very, very glad we had the opportunity to see the play and to see Roy
work on stage.
If you are seeing the play between now and the end of
it's run, you might want to re-read it between now and then. It will
help if you don't speak French.
Oh, and for those who keep track of Roy's shirts -
the one he wears in the play has snaps :D
****Again, sorry to have taken so long to have shared
this with everyone!
Mary Anne & Barb, too!
...and I am sorry work interfered with me getting it posted to the site ~
Lindy
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