Post by joem on Feb 23, 2022 14:00:53 GMT
Another coming of age play - they seem to be all over the place in London at the moment - this one by Sonali Bhattacharrya. Two sisters with different problems; Asha is 17 and struggling with political concepts, Bettina is younger and having her pocket money taken from her on the school bus. Bettina asks Asha for help and the former then has to think about how she can apply her political concepts into practical methods.
A problem with two-handers with big themes is how do you introduce these themes into the play without it involving obvious artifice or an excess of informed monologues? Especially when both characters are on different vibes? Well, that is one of the issues here. Asha's investigations, particularly into the disputes between Gandhi and the Dalit leader Ambedkar and trying to find links with this and the suffragette agenda in UK, are very interesting, but can only be delivered as monologues to the audience as the only other character in the play is clearly not interested.
Ticked all the right boxes but somehow doesn't sparkle. Yes it's trying to tie in battles of the past with struggles of today but sometimes tried too hard. There's nothing wrong with the but the relationship actually drags the play down. You want to learn more about the politically conscious Asha rather than the smaller picture.
The Orange Tree's summary of the play with "warnings" is really daft. If everyone were to read it the auditorium would be permanently empty. No-one would need to see the play.
A problem with two-handers with big themes is how do you introduce these themes into the play without it involving obvious artifice or an excess of informed monologues? Especially when both characters are on different vibes? Well, that is one of the issues here. Asha's investigations, particularly into the disputes between Gandhi and the Dalit leader Ambedkar and trying to find links with this and the suffragette agenda in UK, are very interesting, but can only be delivered as monologues to the audience as the only other character in the play is clearly not interested.
Ticked all the right boxes but somehow doesn't sparkle. Yes it's trying to tie in battles of the past with struggles of today but sometimes tried too hard. There's nothing wrong with the but the relationship actually drags the play down. You want to learn more about the politically conscious Asha rather than the smaller picture.
The Orange Tree's summary of the play with "warnings" is really daft. If everyone were to read it the auditorium would be permanently empty. No-one would need to see the play.
