Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
BBM Now a Dutch Play - Premier tonight
mvansand76:
--- Quote from: Mikaela on February 17, 2007, 07:22:47 pm ---Oh, there's a ton of stuff I'd like to know. To get started......
1. How did working the wives in by means of film in the background (?) work... did you get any sense of Alma the way you certainly do in the short story? And what about the scene with Jack's parents? Especially Jack's father denying Ennis the ashes? How was that done- by means of the actor reading the passage?
2. Did they use sound clips actively to create the atmosphere.... like sheep bleating, sound of river, cars driving up and driving away.......nature sounds I suppose, in Jack and Ennis's meetings out in nature?
3. Any comments on the play's version of the reunion kiss?
4. If they included all the text of the story, the motel room scene must have been pretty long and wordy?
5. And......Was it a full house?
6. Oh yeah - one more: Did they start with the prologue (Ennis alone in his trailer - suffused with happiness because Jack was in his dream?)
--- End quote ---
1. Alma was projected onto the cases you see in the picture. The passage from the book was read and you could see her face and some emotion on it when she saw J and E kissing. Not much attention was paid to the women, they had a tape of Lureen's voice when E calls her after J's death. It really was like it was in the short story.
In the scene with J's father the actor who plays Jack played his father by reading his dialogue.
2. They didn't use a lot of sound clips, no, it was a pretty quiet piece, they had some projections of sheep and of the postcard in E's hand. In the very first scene they used the sound of the thermostat in E's trailer.
3. Well, at first I thought they were just gonna read out the whole passage because Jack stood on the left side of the stage and Ennis on the right side. But in the middle of the reading out of the short story text, they walked up to each other and kissed and hugged and then kissed again. On the right side of the stage you could see the projection of Alma looking kind of shocked. Then they tore away from each other and Jack covered his crotch with his hat when they 'talked' to Alma. The crowd laughed at that. I thought it was really well done because you could feel the relief of seeing each other again.
4. I really liked the motel scene in the play. They did the whole first part (the description of how the room looked and smelled) in a very playful way, tugging at each other, taking each other's boots and shirts off and then just laying down (like in the short story, not like in the film). The dialogue went really quickly but it was very powerfully delivered. A lot of people laughed when Ennis asks Jack if he has been with other guys and Jack says hell no! It was delivered in a way that you know that the actor understood exactly what he had put across with that sentence.
5. You bet! I think 80% gay couples and some women and older straight couples.
6. Yes they did! I was very happy to see that and it was very powerful, especially because Jack narrated that!
Hope that answers your questions!
mvansand76:
--- Quote from: David on February 17, 2007, 07:58:41 pm ---Melissa, you're a sweetheart for taking the time to tell us all about the play. We appreciate it a lot!
I hope we don't nag you too much with all our questions, but this is a very big deal for all of us, and you are one of the few people fortunate enough to actually see this beautiful play! :D
--- End quote ---
Oh no I am thrilled to be able to share this with you all!
mvansand76:
--- Quote from: shakestheground on February 17, 2007, 08:29:22 pm ---I will resist asking if the play begins with Ennis cutting the tap on and .......
You mentioned having to sit for 1.5 hours. I know to listen to Campbell Scott read the story is about an hour, so is the play about the same?
What has the media said about it?
Thank you for being our eyes and ears.
--- End quote ---
*** What do you mean by your first sentence? The play started with Ennis in his trailer (not a real trailer, one of the crates on the stage opened and you could see him lying under a blanket. The actor who played Jack narrated this part and that made it really poignant, because he did it with so much love. I especially loved the part at the end of the prologue "If he does not force his attention on it..." that was done beautifully with Ennis standing in front of one of the crates and leaning his head against the projections.
*** They did read out the whole story, and they did not leave anything out or add anything, it was very pure, but they also had some things or dialogue that came back in song throughout the whole play and they sung Water-Walking Jesus together in front of the fire!
*** The first tent scene (hahaha can't resist to use the movie term...) was them huddled together in a blanket and reading out the passage from the book. It was cute.
*** Also, the 'scene' where Ennis washes himself was done in a really funny way. He pulled his pants down (no underwear, well duh... ;D) and used a wash cloth to wash himself and then threw the washcloth at Jack. I wonder if that was improvisation because they kept throwing it back and forth and then Willem Schouten (Ennis) accidentally threw it at some people in the first row. Another reason not to sit in the first row! LOL.
*** The media has been very enthusiastic. I will make sure to translate some important parts of the reviews that came out this week!
mvansand76:
Some excerpts from reviews in the major newspapers in Holland:
Trouw: “De toneelversie van ‘Brokeback Mountain’ heeft een schoonheid die losstaat van de film. (...) Twee acteurs dragen op een bewonderswaardige manier de hele handeling: Willem Schouten als Ennis en Sieger Sloot als Jack. (...) Een voorstelling waar je niet van gaat snotteren, maar van een heldere zuiverheid.”
NRC next: * * * *
Brabants Dagblad: “Brokeback Mountain is onder regie van Van Kan een prachtig verteld verhaal. Wie het al kent van het boek of de film, moet deze theaterversie zeker gaan zien. Wie het nog niet kent trouwens ook.”
NRC Handelsblad: “Vertwijfelde, rauwe cowboyliefde (...) In een beweegbaar decor met houten schotten, zoals van ranches in het Amerikaanse westen, brengen de spelers dynamiek aan. Ze springen over balken, zwaaien met dekens alsof het lasso's zijn. Een soort cowboysdans van energie en mannelijkheid."
GPD (o.a. Gelderlander, Haarlems Dagblad): “De Wetten van Kepler heeft er iets moois van weten te maken. (...) In de toneelversie is humor dan ook de mooiste toevoeging aan het origineel. Willem Schouten en Sieger Sloot hebben plezier in het verhaal, en dat geeft de vertelling een prettige luchtigheid mee."
.....and the translation ;D:
Trouw: “The stage version of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ offers a beauty that is separate from the movie. (...) The two actors carry the whole act in a way that is to be admired: Willem Schouten as Ennis and Sieger Sloot as Jack. (...) A performance that doesn't make you cry, but that is of a clear purity.”
NRC next: * * * * (4 stars)
Brabants Dagblad: “Brokeback Mountain, directed by Van Kan is a beautifully told story. Anybody who already knows the book and/or the film should definitely see this theatre version. Whoever doesn't know it should see it too, by the way.”
NRC Handelsblad: “Desperate, rough cowboy love (...) In a moveable decor with wooden crates, as with the ranches in the American West, the actors add a certain dynamism. They jump over beams, wave around blankets as if they are lassos. A type of cowboy dance of energy and masculinity."
GPD (Gelderlander, Haarlems Dagblad): “De Wetten van Kepler has been able to make something beautiful of this. (...) In the stage version humour is the most beautiful addition to the original. Willem Schouten and Sieger Sloot clearly enjoy telling this story, and that adds a pleasant sense of lightness to the narration."
Front-Ranger:
Hooray for Shouten and Sloot! And for Melissa, fabulous review and translation!!
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