The Waste Land

Synopsis

Eliot's strange poem of 1922 in performance. The poem expresses the spiritual crisis of modern man and dislocation, fragmentation as well as chaos are ever underlying. The Waste Land is a fascinating piece of performance poetry, which has been adapted for the stage where its emphasis on personal frustration comes across beautifully.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 4 January 2010

T S Eliot’s poem of visionary lamentation was first performed by Fiona Shaw at Wilton’s twelve years ago; she returns for a brief visit as part of a fund-raising campaign for this wonderful, atmospheric venue and the blessing she bestowed in 1997 is no less powerful today.

The poem is opaque and difficult, but Shaw is so blazingly persuasive that you readily submit to her litany of ghosts and faded memories that echo in the music hall vaults as “by the waters of Leman I sat down and wept” (the river, and Leman Street, is nearby). First time out, Shaw was swathed in black; now she is swathed in scarves, and green/brown winter clothes.

She is a time traveller, a Greek chorus, an athletic figure on an ancient vase, an apocalyptic horsewoman (as a classical prelude to Lady Gay Spanker at the National next year?), an impassioned witness, mercurial messenger and skittish hyacinth girl, a clairvoyant with a bad cold, Dido with visions of Carthage on f...

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Latest User Review

LDE - 11 January 2010:

Utterly fantastic. I can't imagine anybody performing the poem better than Fiona Shaw. Wonderful....

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