Bitter Wheat
Aug. 18th, 2019 04:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitThere aren't many plays which have a Thursday matinée (Wednesday being more usual) which is why I decided to see Bitter Wheat, a new play by David Mamet, at the Garrick Theatre. I booked before the reviews came out, and they weren't good. Nevertheless I decided to go, and if it was dreadful I'd leave at the interval. I had a seat in he Grand Circle, but there were so many seats unsold I was moved up to the seventh row of the Stalls.
The play stars John Malkovich as Barney Fein, a character based on Harvey Weinstein. He is a thoroughly unpleasant character, intent on obtaining sexual favours from a new young actress. Malkovich is brilliant, and the rest of the cast is also excellent. There can be no sympathy for the character and the play doesn't ask for any.
I was sitting next to Marnie, an American, who in the interval turned to me and said, "I'd love to go back to when I was 23 and tell XY exactly what I thought of him". We discussed the position of women, and the rise of MeToo. And agreed that although we couldn't say we were enjoying the play, due to the subject matter, we were rivetted. The people sitting on the other side of me didn't return after the interval. David Mamet acknowledged this was a play which would split his audience.
The second act shows Fein's downfall and his refusal to accept the wrongness of his behaviour, and not just of a sexual nature. The play showed the total self-absorption of the main character, and probably needed an actor of Malkovich's talent to make it work.
I'd recommend seeing the play, but be aware of the basic premise before you go.
The play stars John Malkovich as Barney Fein, a character based on Harvey Weinstein. He is a thoroughly unpleasant character, intent on obtaining sexual favours from a new young actress. Malkovich is brilliant, and the rest of the cast is also excellent. There can be no sympathy for the character and the play doesn't ask for any.
I was sitting next to Marnie, an American, who in the interval turned to me and said, "I'd love to go back to when I was 23 and tell XY exactly what I thought of him". We discussed the position of women, and the rise of MeToo. And agreed that although we couldn't say we were enjoying the play, due to the subject matter, we were rivetted. The people sitting on the other side of me didn't return after the interval. David Mamet acknowledged this was a play which would split his audience.
The second act shows Fein's downfall and his refusal to accept the wrongness of his behaviour, and not just of a sexual nature. The play showed the total self-absorption of the main character, and probably needed an actor of Malkovich's talent to make it work.
I'd recommend seeing the play, but be aware of the basic premise before you go.
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Date: 2019-08-19 03:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-08-19 07:54 am (UTC)