50 replies to this topic

[Lynette]

Honestly HG I'm failing to understand you here. I have seem most if not all of SRB's stuff and I can't recall him ever getting the 'wrong' reaction through poor acting or direction. Can you be more specific?


And I'm not sure you can say for sure there are no laughs in Timon. Did you ask Will last time you saw him? My feeling is that you are thinking more of the old style of acting - this is called a tragedy so don't laugh - rather than the more contemporary view which is more ironic and cynical. Take Iago for example, no laughs? What did you think of SRB's go at that part?

[armadillo]

Indeed. I've been stalking] following SRB since the late 80s and I don't recall ever coming out of a performance of his thinking, 'That clearly wasn't what Trev or Nick or John intended'. And I doubt any of them thought that or they wouldn't keep using him.

[Epicoene]

armadillo, on 04 December 2012 - 11:04 AM, said:

And where it is said how sympathetic Leontes or Lear are allowed to be

In the text. SRB got a laugh when he denounced his wife during the trial scene which is plainly not the author's or director's or actor's intention. But I put it down to a failing of the audience rather than him, like those junior school parties who break out in helpless giggles whenever anyone kisses on stage.

On actors "liking to be liked" even in unsympathetic roles, better actors than SRB have been concerned with this issue and have tried to elimiate it from their performances, John Gielgud notably. Others have tried and failed - there is an interesting story about Jack Lemmon filming Glengarry Glen Ross for example.

[Honoured Guest]

Epicoene understands my point. Lynette and Armadillo don't understand my point.

Of course you may not agree with my point but I can't make it any more plain and if you understand Epicoene's last post above then you will have understood my point also.

[armadillo]

Like Lynette, I don't share your absolute certainty that you know exactly what Will and Sam intended. Perhaps you'd care to give your sources?

[Honoured Guest]

Armadillo, here is an example:

Epicoene, on 04 December 2012 - 12:49 PM, said:

SRB got a laugh when he denounced his wife during the trial scene which is plainly not the author's or director's or actor's intention. But I put it down to a failing of the audience rather than him, like those junior school parties who break out in helpless giggles whenever anyone kisses on stage.

[Abby]

I don't think he got a laugh when I saw it - maybe you got a duff audience. It happens - I've been in audiences where someone laughed at a woman being punched. Some people are just odd...

[Alexandra]

Rylance has the same problem at the Globe, The audience assumes that everything he says must be funny, and it's ruinous. I agree about SRB - he's a naturally sympathetic actor with a comic inflection in his voice and, as I wrote about his Timon, the NT audience would now cheer him reading the telephone directory.

"there is an interesting story about Jack Lemmon filming Glengarry Glen Ross for example. "

Oh, let's hear it please. I'm hoping to see Al Pacino's take on that role soon.

[Honoured Guest]

Alexandra, on 04 December 2012 - 03:25 PM, said:

Rylance has the same problem at the Globe, The audience assumes that everything he says must be funny, and it's ruinous. I agree about SRB - he's a naturally sympathetic actor with a comic inflection in his voice and, as I wrote about his Timon, the NT audience would now cheer him reading the telephone directory.

Interesting observation on Mark Rylance at the Globe - I think the same factors worked to advantage in Jerusalem. It's just occurred to me that the problem of being a "musical" actor ("a naturally sympathetic actor with a comic inflection in his voice" - exactly) in classic plays is that the arcane text spoken plays a relatively small part in how most of the audience comprehends the play. I speak very much from personal experience here! So actors in classic plays have more scope for leading an audience or for misleading them.

[Lynette]

Richard Briars who was known for his comedic bloke growing his own veg in the telly series was one of the most menacing Poloniuses [ Polonii] I've ever seen and a crackin' Malvolio who went from farcical to very dark indeed. Called acting.