Two unrelated pieces of entertainment
Jun. 10th, 2004 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetI got passes to a free screening of The Chronicles of Riddick and since we rather enjoy Vin Diesel we decided to go, despite having to wade through game traffic to get there. It was pretty much what we expected--a silly piece of violent fluff with eye candy in the shape of Alexa Vardalos (Gwen from Angel) and a touch of class in the form of Dame Judy Dench. It had some fun mayhem and some catchy lines ("I'm going to kill you with my teacup.") and a lame, wait-for-the-sequel ending that made me laugh. The only sour note for me was Thandie Newton--I've never understood her appeal and she's really pretty painful as an actor. But overall, it was a fun ride and a bargain at the price.
Which has nothing to do with The Beauty Queen of Leenane, but someone else on here was talking about good theatre changing one's life and that made me think of the time we saw BQL at Berkeley Rep. It was one of the most affecting shows I have ever seen. I hated it. It was vile. It brought me out of my seat in revulsion and horror. It got inside me and gave me bad dreams for a couple of months afterwards. For those who've never seen it, it's about a mother and daughter trapped by their circumstances and characters in a small cottage in rural Ireland. Through the course of the play you come to realize that each of them is a monster--and then to understand how they've twisted each other into sad and terrifying parodies of human beings. I would class it among the top five shows I have ever seen. And I will never see another Martin McDonagh play as long as I live.
Which has nothing to do with The Beauty Queen of Leenane, but someone else on here was talking about good theatre changing one's life and that made me think of the time we saw BQL at Berkeley Rep. It was one of the most affecting shows I have ever seen. I hated it. It was vile. It brought me out of my seat in revulsion and horror. It got inside me and gave me bad dreams for a couple of months afterwards. For those who've never seen it, it's about a mother and daughter trapped by their circumstances and characters in a small cottage in rural Ireland. Through the course of the play you come to realize that each of them is a monster--and then to understand how they've twisted each other into sad and terrifying parodies of human beings. I would class it among the top five shows I have ever seen. And I will never see another Martin McDonagh play as long as I live.
