Stilted

We went to see Stilted tonight. It was very, very good. I don't think I got all of it, but that didn't detract from the play: it gave it depth. If it had been a book, I would have turned it over and started reading again from the beginning. Maybe with a few other books to refer to when I thought I was missing something.

It seems rather a pity that I can't do that with a play, but I suppose that's the nature of the art form. Even if I could watch the play again - which I'd be quite happy to do - it wouldn't be the same as rereading a book. The closest I'd get to that, I think, is if I could sit through all the rehearsals. Since I can't do that, though, I'll just reflect on what I did get to see, which I enjoyed very much.

Like when actor Richard Antrobus stepped to the front of the stage, began a sort of 'mime behind a glass wall' routine and remarked, "Oh, it's the fourth wall." Or the time(s) he tried to leave the play, but was ordered back on stage by a determined techie.

And then there were the stilts. Have you ever seen a guy in stilts (that must have been about a metre high) jumping on a trampoline? Or doing somersaults over a bed on stilts (both the bed and the actor)? It wasn't the sort of physical theatre I learned about at school, but it was definitely physical and definitely theatre. It made me think and pushed at my preconceptions. It was fun!

I think the whole arts festival has done that. We've done a lot of stuff that wasn't festival-related, but we've done enough festival to stretch and stimulate. I don't think I could actually take in ten days of AMAZ!NG. A couple of days were plenty. Today's the last day of the festival. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sorry it's over. I've absorbed what I can and it's time to move on.