Culture & Entertainment
The Sea review – Jennifer Saunders takes fussing over buying curtains to Shakespearean levels
Source: Culture | The Guardian · Published
Theatre Royal Bath Edward Bond’s play about consumerism and the strength of humans in dark times is hugely enlivened by Saunders and her tight-lipped pomposity When describing his own play, the late playwright Edward Bond said he wanted The Sea to deal with tragedy, be a comedy a
Theatre Royal Bath Edward Bond’s play about consumerism and the strength of humans in dark times is hugely enlivened by Saunders and her tight-lipped pomposity When describing his own play, the late playwright Edward Bond said he wanted The Sea to deal with tragedy, be a comedy and end with people being as honest and open as they could. Jonathan Munby’s production – the first major revival in almost 20 years – begins by offering its audience a view that would ordinarily be obscured: we’re plunged underwater to where the seafaring Colin (Elliot Goodhill) hangs suspended from a rope, fighting for his life, as the waves of Luke Halls’ impressive videography engulf him. It’s a fitting opening sequence for a play that subsequently demands its audience look beneath the surface to find meaning in seemingly trivial interactions.
It’s jarring when, come the following scene, we’re flung into a draper’s shop, where Jennifer Saunders’ avaricious, egotistical Mrs Rafi is fussing over curtain material. But Bond understood consumerism as a distraction from the pain and absurdity of life. Similarly, his characters sing their hymns ever louder when there’s gunfire in the distance.
They also stage an annual play to raise money for their seaside village’s coastguards, while maintaining distance from any trouble their beneficiaries face on the ground. Continue reading...
Related stories
‘Women are pitted against each other. It’s a bloodsport’: Billie Piper on industry infighting, Elsinore’s Oscar buzz and thriving on personal crisis
The teen pop star turned Olivier-winning actor stars as Andrew Scott’s best friend in the acclaimed Ian Charleson biopic. She talks kindred spirits, social media and trying to channel a ‘mad storm of grief’ The late Billie Whitelaw, whom Samuel Beckett considered “a perfect actre
Culture | The Guardian ·
Victorian Psycho review – Maika Monroe has a blast in unsteady horror romp
The It Follows and Longlegs star tears into the role of a murderous governess in this hit-and-miss adaptation of Virginia Feito’s gory novel It’s not that hard to figure out why a lower-class woman toiling away in Victorian England would be so easily driven to violently murder ev
Culture | The Guardian ·
Allen review – what would happen if ET came back for Elliott as an adult? Turns out nothing great
This good-natured if relentlessly unsubtle family film from Netflix and the studio behind Bluey relies on a cute alien with no personality It’s important for stories about magical formative experiences to make the point that time marches forward. Puff the Magic Dragon slinks back
Culture | The Guardian ·
‘It was hard coming after the shallow, egocentric YBAs’: brilliantly bolshie artist Ryan Gander lambasts practically everyone
He thinks painting is futile, the YBAs were an embarrassment, and most artists today might as well be working in carpet shops. So why is his new show full of, er, paintings? We meet the confounding British artist ‘This is so bad isn’t it?” says Ryan Gander, grinning like a naught
Culture | The Guardian ·
‘It’s a new world. It’s a little fascistic. And it needs a different response’: U2 on 50 years together – and why Bono can’t work with Trump
After some so-so albums, can U2’s new one, Carnaval de Luz, restore them to glory? They discuss male egos, working with Dolly Parton, and explain why, despite Trump, they still believe in democracy – at least in their band La Petite Maison, in Nice, has a certain reputation as a
Culture | The Guardian ·