In Sunday’s heatwave, I broke away from a day of birthday celebrations and culture to catch the new show at the Atlantic, Gabriel by Moira Buffini. It’s about a displaced family on the island of Guernsey (which was occupied by the Germans during World War II) and what they do when a naked stranger washes up on their shore. The play explores the role of women during an occupation when all the native men are fighting or dead and many of its moments are very poignant and subtle. It’s a fine play and the design is absolutely gorgeous, but I kept thinking that it was, perhaps, too earnest. And some of the actors seemed a little bit off with their lines, which always throws me. The play was produced at the Soho Theatre in 1997 and I’m not sure what the process behind putting it up here 13 years later was. Ever since my freshman year of college I’ve been very interested in the decision making behind “subsequent performances” and this is one that I would be interested to know, because either the cultural relevance is too subtle for me, or they just liked the play and wanted to do it.
In the meantime I’ve been reading Laura Wade’s play Posh because it arrived at the book shop last week and the cover image(on the left) is excellent. I’m pretty disappointed that I won’t be able to see it (and I highly doubt it’ll transfer across the Atlantic, it’s too timely and British), but reading it has been an absolute delight. It’s equal parts hilarious and scathing. I found myself laughing on the subway while reading it and horrified by other sections. There’s a good review of it that’s just been posted on the NY Times website, but it’s essentially about the members of an Oxford club (modeled, supposedly, after the club that David Cameron and George Osbourne were both in as students– though I’m sure there are others like it) on a night that they get together and get drunk and postulate on their position in the world and the decline of the Empire. It’s a state of the nation play, much like Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, but from a very different side of it.
I’m always intrigued by state of the nation plays, and while I’ve never really attempted to write one for America, I would like to try some day.
