I might as well admit that I have a bad attitude towards Anthony Neilson's scripts: while I acknowledge that he can be witty, satirical and bawdy, he fell foul of my obsession with the representation of mental illness in The Wonderful World of Dissocia. I know that I am in a minority here - it has won awards from the CATS, it has been restaged and lauded. However, it's a rare moment when Michael Billington and I agree: the mental illness on display was merely a fantastic plot device and did nothing to forward realistic or sympathetic portrayals of mental ill-health.
But Stitching is about how "Stu and Abby try to pick up the pieces of their relationship, but they only end up picking it apart, stitch by painful stitch." A heteronormative couple in conflict and pain? Count me in, obviously.
Stitching has been banned in several countries - another plus - and the Tron are warning that it is not for the easily offended. Producer and star of the production, Catriona Evans says that “This play is very challenging, even for a theatre-savvy audience. It deals with the painful and perverse lengths to which people go to keep a broken relationship alive. People may not want to admit it, may be offended, may think Neilson is an extremist, but we feel he has the courage to tell the truth and show us the darker parts of love without flinching.”
I'm in.
The Tron
People may accuse Neilson for presenting a shocking play ,however we should appreciate him for having this courage to enlighten people on the dark side of relationships and this can serve a lesson to the audience and a whole society.The content of a theater should not merely be focused on beauty , happiness and fortune but it should reveal the reality.It is for this reason I am really interested in in-yer- face theatre.
ReplyDeleteI am willing to compare one of Anthony Neilson's plays to one of Antonin Artaud's plays based on experimental theatres as my thesis.
I would be very greatful if you could recommend me the plays I should choose from both playwrigts's works.