Post by David J on Mar 3, 2016 13:03:10 GMT
Yeah...
The adapters of Madame Bovary, John Nicholson and Javier Marzan (who also stars in this), say that a faithful adaptation of the story will be too depressing. So wanted to created a light-hearted show, where comedy exposes tragedy and tragedy exposes comedy.
At one point Emma Fielding breaks out of character and the fourth wall (they do this a lot in this show) to express her view that the show should include the 6 months of isolation and silence that Madame Bovary goes through at one point. To which Javier Marzan argues that that would make the show long and boring
The irony is is that the comedy he has tried to inject into this does exactly that.
This could have been a light-hearted 2 hour re-telling of the story. Instead the writers have tried to include one too many clever jokes, including some metadrama, that goes on for too long at 2 hours and 35 minutes.
The show starts with these travelling ratcatchers which we spend 15 minutes with. During which the cast breaks the fourth wall (and brings the show to halt) to explain that this is pretty unnecessary since they don't appear in the book. They are simply a framing device for Madame Bovary, before she commits suicide at the end, to tell her story to one of them.
There's also some metaphors that are so heavy handed. A seducing scene between Bovary and her lover Rodolphe, involves him pulling off magic tricks (get it, he's seducing her), and when they start devouring each other the two supporting actors appear at the back making monkey sounds (GET IT, they're reducing themselves to their primal desires)
The show jars between tragedy and comedy.
The moment Fielding argues about the 6 weeks silence is just after Madame Bovary, whom she plays with poignancy at times, discovers that her lover, Rodolpe, has left her. At which Emma Fielding, with personal anguish, goes out of character leaves the stage.
This is scripted by the way
At which point Javier Marzan fills in for her by dressing up as Madame Bovary and continues the show. Before Fielding returns and starts arguing (the third time this happned) with the rest of the cast about how Madame Bovary should be represented.
During which supporting actor Jonathan Holmes appears in a dinosaur costume.
In this moment the show had become The Madame Bovary That Goes Wrong.
There are some good moments, such as one where an unhappy Madame Bovary attends a ball. This chandelier is lowered from above to the floor, shaped like a big dress, into which Bovary is entrapped. When she dances with a Viscount she can only stretch out at arms length whilst he dances around her. But this small moment is enough to give her euphoria.
Honestly the more I think about this the most I dislike it.
The ending could have been so poignant, and then they pull the rug out from beneath with one more desperate chance at comedy
It looked like it had potential, and to be fair it tells the story well. But he result is a bloated show, with too many theatrical devices and ideas we've seen before thrown in, that only received smatterings of laughter.
The adapters of Madame Bovary, John Nicholson and Javier Marzan (who also stars in this), say that a faithful adaptation of the story will be too depressing. So wanted to created a light-hearted show, where comedy exposes tragedy and tragedy exposes comedy.
At one point Emma Fielding breaks out of character and the fourth wall (they do this a lot in this show) to express her view that the show should include the 6 months of isolation and silence that Madame Bovary goes through at one point. To which Javier Marzan argues that that would make the show long and boring
The irony is is that the comedy he has tried to inject into this does exactly that.
This could have been a light-hearted 2 hour re-telling of the story. Instead the writers have tried to include one too many clever jokes, including some metadrama, that goes on for too long at 2 hours and 35 minutes.
The show starts with these travelling ratcatchers which we spend 15 minutes with. During which the cast breaks the fourth wall (and brings the show to halt) to explain that this is pretty unnecessary since they don't appear in the book. They are simply a framing device for Madame Bovary, before she commits suicide at the end, to tell her story to one of them.
There's also some metaphors that are so heavy handed. A seducing scene between Bovary and her lover Rodolphe, involves him pulling off magic tricks (get it, he's seducing her), and when they start devouring each other the two supporting actors appear at the back making monkey sounds (GET IT, they're reducing themselves to their primal desires)
The show jars between tragedy and comedy.
The moment Fielding argues about the 6 weeks silence is just after Madame Bovary, whom she plays with poignancy at times, discovers that her lover, Rodolpe, has left her. At which Emma Fielding, with personal anguish, goes out of character leaves the stage.
This is scripted by the way
At which point Javier Marzan fills in for her by dressing up as Madame Bovary and continues the show. Before Fielding returns and starts arguing (the third time this happned) with the rest of the cast about how Madame Bovary should be represented.
During which supporting actor Jonathan Holmes appears in a dinosaur costume.
In this moment the show had become The Madame Bovary That Goes Wrong.
There are some good moments, such as one where an unhappy Madame Bovary attends a ball. This chandelier is lowered from above to the floor, shaped like a big dress, into which Bovary is entrapped. When she dances with a Viscount she can only stretch out at arms length whilst he dances around her. But this small moment is enough to give her euphoria.
Honestly the more I think about this the most I dislike it.
The ending could have been so poignant, and then they pull the rug out from beneath with one more desperate chance at comedy
It looked like it had potential, and to be fair it tells the story well. But he result is a bloated show, with too many theatrical devices and ideas we've seen before thrown in, that only received smatterings of laughter.