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Monday, December 04, 2006

Everyone's a Critic...


I cannot understand the absolute drought of Bronte news lately. All that is coming over the wire are scraps of news items from months ago, and trivia which is in no way interesting. I have come to think that theatre critics are some of the most viciously snarky people there are. This comes from a review of Les Miserables by a critic who has never liked Les Miserables:

This time I did my best to set aside my previous experiences and see the show fresh. And what do you know, Hugo’s great story rings through loud and clear. I have new admiration for Boublil, who has told this complex tale with economy and emotional directness—Schönberg is clearly the person on the creative team who rubs me the wrong way. Well, him and co-director John Caird, whose direction of "Jane Eyre, The Musical" is one of the most heinous crimes against the theater and literature that I have suffered.

And... that's it. Nothing more substantial than this, folks. My final projects should be in next week after which I will start to delve into my archives again for bloggy material until the news picks up again.

6 comments:

Rachel said...

Okay. That review sucked out some of my brain cells.

Brontëana said...

Theatre critics seem to say things like this all the time. It is amusing that the child was able to connect with the show, when the critic could not.

Anonymous said...

The press are no doubt suffering from a surfeit of JE goodness following the recent adapt. … talking of which, on the C19 boards, Sandy Welch has replied to one of the questions put to her by one of the users (ie Why is Mr Rochester so nice? and Why is Mr Rochester so ordinary?) and what she has written is very interesting…

Hope you are well and not too overworked – and your mother is doing well, too.

Brontëana said...

to liz:

That's as good an explaination as I can imagine. There has always been at least something going on in Bronte news but perhaps there was simply too much out there on the BBC series.

What was it Sandy' explaination? I don't frequent the C19 boards...

Ah, well, I am extremely overworked, but I think I am in recovery atm. I realised only a few days ago that I was suffering from sleep debt- I had so little sleep in residence for weeks that it manifested in a light lethargy, and trouble concentrating and retaining what I've studied. My mom has moved into her new place but she is not comfortable there at all. So, she's looking for a new place. Things continued to be rough for a long time. Hopefully it will not be long before she is truly settled and content. That's all I hope for!

Kathleen Bolton said...

I think critics make unsubstantiated potshots like these because, well, they can.

They aren't writing for theater-goers, I'm convinced. They are writing for each other.

I hope you and your mom are doing better soon!

Brontëana said...

to kathleen:

Thank you. I call her twice a day. She is not liking her new place very much. Her neighbours are disruptive and her landlords have been very invasive and demanding. So it looks like there's still a ways to go before she'll be content and settled somewhere.