A new venture - the first live broadcast of a play form the National Theatre in London. The calling card was Helen Mirren in the title role, with Margaret Tyzack as Oenone.
The movie theatre venue was not a plus, but the experience was definitely worth repeating. It was a very strong production and one that we would have preferred to see live, but given that is not an option, this is a good alternative.
They used five cameras, so it was not totally static. I would like to see a version with one camera, showing the full f=rame of the set. We had seats in the third row, which was a problem since from some camera angles, people had very large bodies and small heads.
But the production was so strong, it was worth seeing.
It will be interesting to compare with the Stratford productoin in August. Both are using the Ted Hughes translation.
This was a good concept and good production, particularly Mirren and Tyzack. I don't know how Mirren could play such agony night after night, it must be draining.
ReplyDeleteThe set was very dramatic and set the play in a mythical Greece that made the gods and demons seem very reasonable.
I thought they made a mistake having the cameras in so tight - you lost the feeling of the stage and the play. I think they have to decide whether they are filming a play, in which case they need to let the production breathe, or making a film, in which case the actors need to perform in camera-scale.
Of course, this problem was made worse for us as were about six inches from the screen - we have to get there earlier if we see another of these productions.