Brian Friel's new Play at the Gate.

S

Sherib

Guest
This is the most real and moving play I have seen in years.

Go see it - if you can get a ticket. It's titled "The Home Place" by Brian Friel. The most apt and kind interpretation of the Anglo-Irish and maybe what led to the IRA/IRB. With a brilliant cast and only €26.00.

It is highly political (in my opininion) but so kind and gentle
to the invaders of our country. You young things out there need to understand our history. Half of RTE were there tonight. Slight exaggeration! It will be reviewed next Tuesday on "The View", John Kelly RTE around 11.00pm. Quite the best play in 20 years.

In a way reminiscent of Chechov. Given the past week, couldn't be more relevant. Money isn't everything and what goes around comes around. Or so it is said?
 
Even Fintan O'Toole gave it the thumbs up. It's on my to-do list........
 
Didn`t like it! Actors were good though.
This is the second play Fintan O`toole reviewed that had me checking ticket to see if we saw the same play.
An actor told me once, that there`s a convention never to give a negative review in Irish papers.Is this true/false?
This is my opinion...maybe I`m too critical or watch too much Fair City.
 
Wouldn't agree at all. Fintan, in particular, can be very critical and a bit of a perfectionist. He was very harsh on Conor McPherson's "Shining City" which was a brilliant play and had been very well received in London where it premiered. Indeed, the reason for the London premiere was that McPherson said that the Irish critics couldn't be relied upon to give it a fair crack of the whip and one bad review from a mainstream Dublin critic could "sink" a play.

You also have to bear in mind that Dublin is a small city and personal agendas can come out in (some) reviews! Otherwise, criticism tends to be pretty fair. Bernard Farrell's last play got a terrible slating from nearly all the critics (deservedly so IMHO) although in fairness, it never claimed to be more than a light-hearted romp.

My main criticism of the critics is that sometimes there is a tendency to give an easy ride to avant garde or experimental theatre - there is a lot of rubbish about and sometimes pure crap is just that and the emperor needs to be told firmly that he has no clothes! On the other hand, there is a tendency to be over-critical of the Abbey/Gate practise of putting on crowd pleasing productions of the old reliable favourites, no matter how polished the performances may be. Perhaps the critics need to feel superior to the audiences??
 
My main criticism of the critics is that sometimes there is a tendency to give an easy ride to avant garde or experimental theatre
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If you're a critic the last thing you want to do is criticise something you don't understand. I mean if the other critics like it you'll just look like an idiot.

Wouldn't it be cool to put on a play that consisted of Actors and directors coming on stage and reading reviews and then reviewing the critics. There's some great scope for taking the piss out of critics.

Of course I doubt it would be critically aclaimed.

-Rd
 
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