Age of Arousal by Linda Griffiths
Elinor Holt, Gemma James-Smith and Valerie Plancheas Alice Madden, Monica Madden and Virginia Madden in Age of Arousal.
Photo by Trudie Lee.
How would you describe the world of Age of Arousal?
Please share your comments on the play.
20 comments:
I found this play to be excellent---the writing was superb and the actors terrific. What a treat---but then I usually find ATP plays to be of a very high calibre and seldom can complain about the acting.
Generally I have a really good time at most ATP shows but thought this one uneventful, which in turn made it too long for me.
I thought the acting was good and as 1 person of our party of 8 put it, "I don't care if I see what happens after intermission", she actually left 10 minutes into act two. I wish I would have left too.
So, general collective commentsfrom a party of 8 (30 & 40 something year olds): 4 people quite enjoyed it, 1 person thought it was okay, 1 person didn't really enjoy it (me), and 2 people left.
Your turn to decide.
We are looking forward to seeing Freud next week.
I was amazed by the beautiful costumes and lighting design. I especially liked the transitions between scenes- very clever!
I loved the first act. The dialogue was witty, funny and very intelligent. A very good performance for the first show.
The second act seemed somewhat slow in comparison and I found it to be not quite as engaging as the first. I think the play ended a little too abruptly with the "30 years from now" line.
I recommend attending this play based on the first act alone. The acting was very fine as per usual at ATP, costumes and sets were lovely.
(I hope these comments will be posted in the theatre, it is so fun to read these when attending other plays at the festival.)
These comments won't be posted in the theatre this year, but you're welcome to check the website frequently to see what people are saying about the plays.
While I found the dialogue to be witty, and the acting was superb, I didn't become engaged with the characters, and wasn't really very interested in how things were going to play out for them. We left at intermission, and I didn't feel any sense of loss in not knowing what happened. I personally thought that the typewriter as being the saviour for women quite funny though.
Age of Arousal was superb. I took a class in feminist theory in university and found this was a wonderful portrayl of the thoughts and feelings of different types of feminism both then (at the turn of the century) and now. I thought it was very well done. Each character had a different definition of feminism and had a different view of themselves as women in their society. Thank you for bringing this show to your stage. (The costumes were absolutely beautiful)
I agree with many of the comments made above. The first act of this play was quite good but the second act was just beating the same point without the wit and verve of the first act.
If you're going to see this show I would recommend leaving at the intermission. You will enjoy the show more.
I expect witty, charming, challenging and entertaining from playRites, but this play is brilliant. Congratulations to Linda Griffiths for a play that I predict will be studied in University Feminist Studies and Women's Literature.
It is also good theatre, but due to the rapid speaking of inner and outer thoughts, it demands much of the audience in intelligence and listening skills as one steps back into the early history of "sexology" and the women's movement.
It is much easier to live a life, than to reflect upon women's lives. This play shows maturity of thought and multidimensional thinking. What makes us women? What are our choices? Who holds us back? How do we deal with power? The lone male in the play is also struggling with new understanding and his role in society. Choices in life are difficult.
Brava Linda.
I am quite surprised at other comments regarding this play. It is very revealing that a few people left at the end of the first act. I read these comments before going and was pleasantly surprised as how enthusiastic the audience and I were at the intermission. I thought the play was absolutely first class. The use of language was beautiful, the acting superb and once again the ATP staff produced a minimalist set that wonderfully complimented the play. I thought it was a very strong production.
I would agree that I didn’t identify with any character in particular but was engrossed with the situation they found themselves in and the story of how they dealt with their state of affairs. There is a lot of humour in the play and, at the performance that I attended, a lot of laughter from the audience.
This play did require me to concentrate more than usual as the characters often talk quickly and over-top of one another. Just what one often observes from an excited group of women. (Yes, I am male.)
I think that a lot of young women would find this play very interesting, informative and very, very funny. Young women in this play have to deal with issues of earning a living, their sexuality and how much one should accept from previous generations and how much one should step out with new, trendy ideas. These are similar to the issues young women (and men) are facing today and always face.
I enjoyed this play. I found the actresses sometimes difficult to hear because of the staging. They sometimes had their backs to the audience and the dialogue was lost.
The second act needs a little tightening to keep it moving along but all in all, this was a very entertaining evening. In contrast to others who left or who wanted to leave, I was quite happy to stay for the whole play.
RW
I am in the middle of the play; it is intermission. But even if I should find the second half not as amusing as the first, it will have been worth it.
I have just traveled from Ontario (Hamilton) and ended up finding the play rather haphazardly. I bought my ticket 20 minutes before the show and have been thoroughly delighted! What a wonderful treat to find such an amusing play on the fly!
Thank you for showing this; it is about time that women got to be women, with all their contradictions and desires, without having to belong to one genre of feminism to prove themselves.
Many thanks! Lovely job!
The costumes were fantastic! I really liked the minimalist approach to the set and thought it was very smart the way that set/scene changes were done. For the most part, I found the acting to be very good but on a couple of occassions I wasn't sure if it was the inner or outer voice speaking. It took me a while to get into the show but found that I wasn't able to get completely absorbed into the story the way that I usually do. I also found it to be a little long.
It's quite a wonderful play. Great to see so many rich, developed, and powerful roles for women. The focus on sexuality during the characters struggle was insightful and elevated the play from a predictable feminist piece to a relevant and thought provoking drama.
I absolutely loved this play. The idea to get the characters to express their thoughts as asides was genius on the part of the playwright and the actors pulled it off brilliantly.
I agree with some of the previous commentators that the first half was stronger than the second, but I disagree with those suggesting people should leave at the intermission. The second part of the play may have a few less laughs, but it explores the important themes of the play.
Kudos to everyone involved.
If you're wanting glib entertainment that gives you a simplistic overview of the beginning of feminism, that has some snappy lines, this play does it. The end is so flat I suspect the playwright didn't even know what to do. If the playwright wants to present, instead, a thoughtful comment about women's position, struggles and drive to change societal attitudes she has to read some more plays that show complex characters with real emotions and do some serious thinking and rewriting.
She needs to get her places straight too. Seascale is not on a lake.
The best play I have seen in a very, very, very long time! Finally, a reason to go to the theatre. Fabulous!
I had such lousy seats and the women actors spoke only to each other that I couldn't understand what they were saying. I left after 10 minutes. I won't waste my money buying poor seats again.
Interesting, enlightening historical play with excellent dialogue. The characters' "asides" to the audience were amusing. Particularly strong performances by Eleanor Holt and Dawn Greenhalgh. I agree with comments by others that the play lost some momentum in the second act and could use some tightening up.
I saw the preview and the playwright was in the lobby after and spoke to me-- I now regret that, with my other comments, I did not mention that her skillful use of comedy was a highlight. hr
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