Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Apr 9, 2024 8:02:38 GMT
...Does it go beyond the "wow that actor's really good!/giving their all!" for you? Watched Andrew Scott's "Vanya" last night in a theater full of Moriarty fans wwho were ready to giggle at the tiniest thing he does... I'm sure if I asked about any of the characters afterwards most of them didn't know what just happened. lol?... Because if the purpose of drama was "make-believe", what could possibly be the intention behind having one star-actor doing all of the roles beyond skretching/showing-off their acting muscles? we already believe everything less when we see one person trying to act them all on his or her own.  |
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 9, 2024 10:25:42 GMT
...Does it go beyond the "wow that actor's really good!/giving their all!" for you? Watched Andrew Scott's "Vanya" last night in a theater full of Moriarty fans wwho were ready to giggle at the tiniest thing he does... I'm sure if I asked about any of the characters afterwards most of them didn't know what just happened. lol?...
Because if the purpose of drama was "make-believe", what could possibly be the intention behind having one star-actor doing all of the roles beyond skretching/showing-off their acting muscles? we already believe everything less when we see one person trying to act them all on his or her own.
It's usually this ^ - however the best pieces of 1 person acting are either because the performance is so strong - Comer in Prima Face or Hall in Secret Honor that you get caught up in it and forget the "stunt" aspect............or if the piece as written is so great anyway (ie Huppert in the monologue Mary Said What She Said - which I have "read" but not seen performed) Comer gave one of the most dazzling displays of acting I have ever seen - in the same year as Tar ffs (!)...........one where I actually worried she might be hurting herself...... or collapse...... it will make zero sense as a movie because a movie will shatter the illusion - Cynthia Erivo will never, ever come close tbh even if she wins an Oscar......because Prima Facie - which I saw on Broadway AND in the live National Theatre Live taped performance - not only ONLY made sense as a 1 person show (it's not that good without the stunt)......but in THAT case it only made sense as a 1 person show starring THAT one person on a stage imo.......and if you never saw Comer's National Theatre Life performance - well.......pacinoyes begged you all to see that ..........on this board ...........several times........... didn't he? Hmmmmmmmmmm   |
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Nikan
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Post by Nikan on Apr 9, 2024 10:54:19 GMT
...Does it go beyond the "wow that actor's really good!/giving their all!" for you? Watched Andrew Scott's "Vanya" last night in a theater full of Moriarty fans wwho were ready to giggle at the tiniest thing he does... I'm sure if I asked about any of the characters afterwards most of them didn't know what just happened. lol?...
Because if the purpose of drama was "make-believe", what could possibly be the intention behind having one star-actor doing all of the roles beyond skretching/showing-off their acting muscles? we already believe everything less when we see one person trying to act them all on his or her own.
It's usually this ^ - however the best pieces of 1 person acting are either because the performance is so strong - Comer in Prima Face or Hall in Secret Honor that you get caught up in it and forget the "stunt" aspect............or if the piece as written is so great anyway (ie Huppert in the monologue Mary Said What She Said - which I have "read" but not seen performed) Comer gave one of the most dazzling displays of acting I have ever seen - in the same year as Tar ffs (!)...........one where I actually worried she might be hurting herself...... or collapse...... The idea of doing such a thing seems so ambitious that I gotta respect them for even trying it to some degree... but Vanya didn't transport me really somewhere beyond "that dude's amazing!" - which got tiresome half-way through*... but I've been hunting for good titles all night and this one came up so many times (not that YOUR positive word wasn't enough pacman  ) that I can't wait... and I wonder where was all this talent storm in The Last Duel then?  which you still haven't seen I reckon *and maybe I'm being uptight but the amount of cheering for every choice he was making was annoying... of course nobody was expecting the super confrontational last acts! has that ever bothered you? or are you the fawner   |
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 9, 2024 11:12:48 GMT
It's usually this ^ - however the best pieces of 1 person acting are either because the performance is so strong - Comer in Prima Face or Hall in Secret Honor that you get caught up in it and forget the "stunt" aspect............or if the piece as written is so great anyway (ie Huppert in the monologue Mary Said What She Said - which I have "read" but not seen performed) Comer gave one of the most dazzling displays of acting I have ever seen - in the same year as Tar ffs (!)...........one where I actually worried she might be hurting herself...... or collapse...... ... and I wonder where was all this talent storm in The Last Duel then? which you still haven't seen I reckon *and maybe I'm being uptight but the amount of cheering for every choice he was making was annoying... of course nobody was expecting the super confrontational last acts! has that ever bothered you? or are you the fawner is - in effect - utterly different from anyting else she's done........... like waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay different.......and way better - it was genuinely, imo, shocking CakeofRoth saw it I know also............ I am pretty sure ireallyamsomething mentioned Scott in a review also and the artifice - where that show is essentially so self-referential it seems a Cliff's Notes version of Vanya.........I thought Scott was pretty great.....and funny.........but that show is inherently a stunt.......Prima Facie and Secret Honor have a more serious (imo) intent in their conception I think......and transcend the gimmick ......... |
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Post by Martin Stett on Apr 9, 2024 12:52:49 GMT
From a writing standpoint, a great one-man show should immerse us in the subjective headspace of the speaker. Take Nixon in Secret Honor, probably the most well-known movie example. That is one giant rant from one man that completely immerses us in this man's point of view - and since we already know the character from history, his views and ours clash, meaning that the whole show is a monologue to the audience to convince them of his side. This is no soliloquy of a man speaking to himself for 90 minutes and the audience overhears: it is a direct challenge to the audience.
I'm not too familiar with the format, but don't many of the one-man shows do similar things? They assume a relationship between speaker and listener. There is no fourth wall in a one-man show, because you are being addressed personally, and the character is appealing to you in whatever manner (defending himself, or making an accusation, or whatever else). It is your job to judge the merits of the speaker. With multiple actors, you are watching a story passively.
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Post by ireallyamsomething on Apr 9, 2024 19:29:22 GMT
I watched Andrew Scott's Vanya last month and somewhat agree with you - I did feel that the one-man aspect, while undeniably impressive from a performance pov, robbed some of the emotional power of the play. I may have been a bit less welcoming for this one especially because Uncle Vanya is one of my favorite plays. I don't know how it played for people who weren't familiar with the play but I'm not sure if it would be that easy to follow.
Even I was unsure of the point of the endeavor though I saw in an interview where Scott and someone else (whose name I can't recall right now) involved in the creation of the adaptation said something like how they wanted to have one man playing all parts to show how the traits of those different characters are in all of us, like how they're connected or similar in many ways, or something to that effect. It did make some sense even though I'd still probably enjoy a slightly more straightforward adaptation.
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Apr 10, 2024 1:52:03 GMT
Comer gave one of the most dazzling displays of acting I have ever seen - in the same year as Tar ffs (!)...........one where I actually worried she might be hurting herself...... or collapse...... Yeah, during the part when she’s standing on top of one of the tables that has water on it leftover from the rain/passage of time interlude, I was kind of worried about how easily she could slip and fall, especially since she’s barefoot there. |
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) that I can't wait... and I wonder where was all this talent storm in The Last Duel then? 
which you still haven't seen I reckon 
