Mike Birbiglia - The Old Man and the Pool @ Wyndham's

I watched this live at Wyndham’s in London, and subsequently in the recorded version from Lincoln Centre.

What really struck me is Birbiglia’s ability to write in such a manner that he knows precisely when and how the audience will react; so moments that may have appeared improvised in the first viewing when interacting with the audience, when watching the recorded version the beats worked almost identically, despite it being a completely different audience (and country). Cultural differences seemed not to apply in this way.

That said it was fascinating to see how much MORE the really dark comedic elements hit with a British audience (live) vs American (recorded.

Overall this is a touching introspection into our mortality, aging, legacy, and finding humour in these terrifying realities. Beautiful stuff.

A show in two mediums; Thoughts on Cyrano

Early March 2020, I saw Jamie Lloyd’s Cyrano on live stream at the cinema. We were then plunged into lockdown. The production sat with me, particularly given that we could not see anything in person. The verbal swordplay and stark light-driven design resonated through my mind.

In March 2022, I got the chance to see the same production, now remounted in London’s West End ahead of its much delayed transfer to Brooklyn. Anticipation was high, as of course, this production had lived on in my mind. Edited, re-shaped. Seeing it live, strangely, gave a heightened awareness of the technical nature of the production, which seeing it digitally had glossed and smoothed over. This isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but in part because I knew the conceit, it removed me from the moment slightly.

I was, however, much more aware of time in the live experience; keenly aware of the pace of the production when it sped up and more importantly, when it slowed for effect. James McAvoy’s “I want you” monologue had the entirety of the theatre holding their collective breath.

It further meant that I was aware of the shortcomings of the dramaturgy. Did the show need to be as long as it was? Could cleaner and tighter choices have been made? Absolutely. But what is fascinating is that these shortcomings were completely missed in my viewing of the streamed production. Why was I willing to accept unnecessary length and less clear dramaturgy in a “film” style experience, but less forgiving in the “live”?

What is different in the way our minds process time and information across these two mediums?

Katharsis by Yvette Nolan @ Prairie Theatre Exchange (limited recording)

I viewed this via Prairie Theatre Exchange on Vimeo, during their limited free availability of the piece on demand.

Yvette Nolan has written a love letter to the theatre. It is gentle and kind, acknowledging the uncanny situation we find ourselves in — desperate for connection and stories, but unable to serve them in our preferred in-person manner. A time when theatre is more necessary than ever, and yet impossible in its old form.

The use of the enormous and empty PTE mainstage space is delightful. Tracey Nepinak guides us with comfort and reassurance, reminding us that we’ve been paused before, but will come back. She is charming and engaging (as always), and I honestly couldn’t imagine a better actor for this role.

A delightful treat of a piece in response to these pandemic times.

Alice and the World We Live In by Alex Haber @ FemFest 2020

Due to COVID, Sarasvati are offering many of their productions digitally via live stream as well as with limited in-person seating. I viewed this live-streamed - there is one more performance Sept 26.

This was initially planned as a full production, indoors in a theatre, however when COVID meant that was not possible, Sarasvati reworked the concept for the show to be a staged reading outdoors, using simple lighting, sound, and representative design. The actors wore mics, which allowed of course for the live stream audio pickup, but also for the integration of sound design and effects on the live voices.

Elena Anciro and Ray Strachan had the challenging task of portraying intense love and loss, while not coming close together — speaking to one another from the tops of three picnic tables set apart from one another. Their connection is believable and meaningful, despite the physical distance — their early meeting scenes charming, and the flashbacks to arguments convincing.

The script hops around in time, which at first is challenging to follow - there is a crisis, there is a meet-cute (which repeats and re-shapes nicely) and there is the current moment. These intersperse through the script, hopping in time, which in a reading scenario is difficult. At times it felt the script would have benefited from more clarity on this front; the most effective scenes were the ones where they stayed in place for longer, and where the blend into a new time was a subtle continuation of the conversation rather than a cinematic hard cut. This may have also benefited the overall pace of the script, which began to feel less nuanced around the middle section.

Production-wise, it was nice to see the use of a mix of camera angles for the live stream. A limitation, of course, was that the harsh lighting for an outdoor production made it difficult to see the actors faces at times. Similarly, early introductions of sound effects on actors were a challenge to discern whether this was a poor connection, or an intentional design aspect. All in all, this raised questions for me (in a good way) about how to stage work for in-person and filmed streaming simultaneously, and appropriately leverage the mediums.

review. Ghostbusters! The Movie Experience

The Secret Sessions have put together a fun evening for Ghostbusters enthusiasts, merging fandom, live performance, and the movie into an experience that enables visitors to interact and enjoy. Using the great brick-walled open space of The Redwood Theatre, they create a world that goes beyond simply watching the movie. In the pre-show interaction time, audience members can fill out their own paranormal activity reports, or interact with the performers, or just relax back and have a drink or snack. I would have liked to see a stronger device to make the interactions and navigation of the space a bit more clear for the un-initiated. . . attending on my own I observed some actors just talking (in character) amongst themselves while I lingered looking on.

For the performance itself, director Mandy Roveda did an excellent job with the cast, blending scenes from the film and live action perfectly, with just the right amount of adventurous theatricality. My only complaint was that in the cavernous space, sometimes actors’ diction was lost.

This is a super fun way to enjoy your annual Ghostbusters viewing!