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buggery(And what, where, when and who, as well.)
Regular and irregular readers of this journal may have seen my pre-emptive squee over going to see Avery Brooks in King Lear last Saturday.
Now that I've actually seen the play... it was fantastic beyond my ability to express, but I'll do my best.
I knew within the first ten minutes I was going to want to see it again, before Mr Brooks had even made his first entrance onto the stage. Then he did make his entrance, right down the centre aisle through the audience, which meant he passed within inches of me, as I had the aisle seat. I could've reached out and touched him.
I've been a fan of his televised work since long before DS9 (which to my mind was the best of the Trek series, not least for his contribution to the ensemble), but I'd missed out on the fact that Avery Brooks has had a long and illustrious stage career, before, during and since his TV work. After seeing him in "Lear"... I'd almost say he's wasted on television. His stage presence is just that: presence. You can feel him all the way to the back of the theatre. The intensity that has always characterised his acting is perfect for the role of Lear, and is utterly riveting.
Also, he's hotter than ever: sporting a white (I couldn't tell whether his hair's gone white or he coloured it for the role, but either way GUH) goatee; and his arms, when costuming let them show, gorgeously toned with just the right hints of vein and tendon.
And there's not only the bawdiness one expects (or ought to) in a production of one of Shakespeare's plays, but delightfully overt slashiness (or should I say homoeroticism? no, let's do go with slashiness) between Lear and his Fool. My favourite moment: Lear lays down to rest after his banishment, and the Fool crawls up behind him, lays his head between his king's spread knees, and goes to sleep.
Probably I should go on at greater length about the merits of the rest of the production -- because really, it's worth seeing even aside from Brooks's role. And I want to be coherent in my praise of the ancient-Mesoamerican setting chosed for this production of Lear (among the Olmec; at some point I need to transcribe the information in the program about how the Olmec were an African or African-influenced culture, or at least find links to equivalent information). There's an overview of the Olmec angle in the Yale Bulletin article linked below. But I'll put that off until Sunday at the earliest, as I'm going again...
Anyway. Now that I've pimped the play up, the bad news is that there are only two remaining public showings (unless the play is later put on again in another venue, which I'm hoping will happen, but that's another matter): this Saturday afternoon at 2pm and this Saturday evening at 8pm, the 13th of March. I won't be surprised if both shows sell out, or if they've done so already.
The good news is that I have an extra ticket for the afternoon show. The person I was supposed to go with this time can't make it. I already bought two tickets, though. So, rather than just let the money go to waste and the seat go empty, I'm offering it up. It cost me $35; I'd prefer to recoup at least some of that, but I'm willing to just give the ticket away if someone wants to come but can't afford travel costs and admission both.
The theatre (Yale Repertory Theatre's 'University Theatre') is in New Haven, CT. I'm fairly familiar with the city, and can give good directions for someone coming by car (though I recommend against it for parking reasons) or by train (New Haven is served by both Amtrak and the Metro-North, the latter of which is a fairly pleasant and affordable -- just over $25 round trip if you buy your ticket at the station and slightly less if you buy it online -- two hours' ride out of NYC), or even by bus if you're nuts enough to try Greyhound or close enough for CTTransit.
First come, first served (unless you're "outbid" -- hey, I'm poor and shameless, though not so shameless that I'd ask more for the ticket than I paid).
More Information
Yale Repertory Theatre: (203) 432-1234 -- ticket info, directions, etc.
Yale Bulletin's article about the production
Yale Bulletin's article about the Olmec setting
playbill.com review
New Haven Advocate (our local alternative weekly) review
ETA: I've set this entry to screen all comments, so if you want to go, you can put your contact information in your comment and it will remain private.
ETA2: We have a winner! Thanks for playing, and Jenny, I'll see you on York Street.
Regular and irregular readers of this journal may have seen my pre-emptive squee over going to see Avery Brooks in King Lear last Saturday.
Now that I've actually seen the play... it was fantastic beyond my ability to express, but I'll do my best.
I knew within the first ten minutes I was going to want to see it again, before Mr Brooks had even made his first entrance onto the stage. Then he did make his entrance, right down the centre aisle through the audience, which meant he passed within inches of me, as I had the aisle seat. I could've reached out and touched him.
I've been a fan of his televised work since long before DS9 (which to my mind was the best of the Trek series, not least for his contribution to the ensemble), but I'd missed out on the fact that Avery Brooks has had a long and illustrious stage career, before, during and since his TV work. After seeing him in "Lear"... I'd almost say he's wasted on television. His stage presence is just that: presence. You can feel him all the way to the back of the theatre. The intensity that has always characterised his acting is perfect for the role of Lear, and is utterly riveting.
Also, he's hotter than ever: sporting a white (I couldn't tell whether his hair's gone white or he coloured it for the role, but either way GUH) goatee; and his arms, when costuming let them show, gorgeously toned with just the right hints of vein and tendon.
And there's not only the bawdiness one expects (or ought to) in a production of one of Shakespeare's plays, but delightfully overt slashiness (or should I say homoeroticism? no, let's do go with slashiness) between Lear and his Fool. My favourite moment: Lear lays down to rest after his banishment, and the Fool crawls up behind him, lays his head between his king's spread knees, and goes to sleep.
Probably I should go on at greater length about the merits of the rest of the production -- because really, it's worth seeing even aside from Brooks's role. And I want to be coherent in my praise of the ancient-Mesoamerican setting chosed for this production of Lear (among the Olmec; at some point I need to transcribe the information in the program about how the Olmec were an African or African-influenced culture, or at least find links to equivalent information). There's an overview of the Olmec angle in the Yale Bulletin article linked below. But I'll put that off until Sunday at the earliest, as I'm going again...
Anyway. Now that I've pimped the play up, the bad news is that there are only two remaining public showings (unless the play is later put on again in another venue, which I'm hoping will happen, but that's another matter): this Saturday afternoon at 2pm and this Saturday evening at 8pm, the 13th of March. I won't be surprised if both shows sell out, or if they've done so already.
The good news is that I have an extra ticket for the afternoon show. The person I was supposed to go with this time can't make it. I already bought two tickets, though. So, rather than just let the money go to waste and the seat go empty, I'm offering it up. It cost me $35; I'd prefer to recoup at least some of that, but I'm willing to just give the ticket away if someone wants to come but can't afford travel costs and admission both.
The theatre (Yale Repertory Theatre's 'University Theatre') is in New Haven, CT. I'm fairly familiar with the city, and can give good directions for someone coming by car (though I recommend against it for parking reasons) or by train (New Haven is served by both Amtrak and the Metro-North, the latter of which is a fairly pleasant and affordable -- just over $25 round trip if you buy your ticket at the station and slightly less if you buy it online -- two hours' ride out of NYC), or even by bus if you're nuts enough to try Greyhound or close enough for CTTransit.
First come, first served (unless you're "outbid" -- hey, I'm poor and shameless, though not so shameless that I'd ask more for the ticket than I paid).
More Information
Yale Repertory Theatre: (203) 432-1234 -- ticket info, directions, etc.
Yale Bulletin's article about the production
Yale Bulletin's article about the Olmec setting
playbill.com review
New Haven Advocate (our local alternative weekly) review
ETA: I've set this entry to screen all comments, so if you want to go, you can put your contact information in your comment and it will remain private.
ETA2: We have a winner! Thanks for playing, and Jenny, I'll see you on York Street.
