The 500th Blog – Theatre. Is. Rubbish.
Today is the 500th Blog. Wow. How did we get here? I’m amazed. Pleased, but amazed. So what do I have to say for myself after 500 blogs, I have to say that in the words of my old friend Joseph – Theatre is Rubbish.
Why do I think that? Well, it’s expensive to go to and often the story is poor. Many times the quality of the acting is weak and the direction misleading. Half the time I’m not convinced that the director and actors understand the play and the rest of the time I don’t think the play is up to much good.
Worst of all. It’s boring. Yes, I said it. It’s boring. BORING. Can you admit it?
I sit in the theatre waiting for the tedious rubbish to end. Indulging the actors with their overly acted performances, spelling everything out to me, as if I’m an idiot – they forget I’m not a TV audience member – OH – that’s another story, for another blog, on another day…
Who defends the theatre? Generally actors, directors, writers etc. In other words, people who earn their living FROM the theatre.
Okay, alright, so perhaps I’m just being provocative, but basically there’s a world of difference between plays like A View from the Bridge, Further than the Furthest Thing, Girls and Dolls (Yes, not the musical) or Oleanna and a lot of the boring rubbish that is pumped out at the minute.
Somewhere along the way, someone forgot that it’s meant to be entertainment. Instead, it’s become a bastion of the liberal middle classes, a way of ensuring that they get their cultural fix, but I cannot fathom for the life of me what they see in it.
Even worse, I find it SMUG. And Boring. Smug and Boring. Is this the profession that I pledged my life to? This smug and boring waffle? I hope not.
I can’t stand plays that don’t seem to give a shit about whether they keep the audience interested and entertained. The artist as entirely abstracted from their audience. I hate it.
And yet, I’ve had some of the most thrilling nights of my life at the theatre. Blackwatch at the Armadillo, Oleanna at The Gate,The Far Side of the Moon – Lepage at his magical best at Tramway. What did they have in common, they had a fucking story! They knew how to keep the audience listening, interested.
So okay, theatre isn’t always so rubbish, but a lot of it is crap. But perhaps the risk is why we go, because we might, or might not like it, it might or might not be rubbish. But somehow I can’t go with that. I want quality, I demand it. So should you.