November 9th, 2005


Seeing his skin through his ribs

Almost by chance, having seen andyknifton's post about this last night, went to see the Primrose Hill Players' staging of Albee's The Zoo Story, at the tiny Etcetera Theatre on top of the Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town. I don't really do reviews and I won't attempt to do one now.. and having arrived in the middle of the second play, 'Waiting for Goldman Sachs', didn't really get enough of a grasp of it, although I liked many of the ideas and the way of resolving them on stage. The last play, 'The Zoo Story', was gripping, very well done (a few details notwithstanding, like a couple of back-to-front phrases like the one in the subject of this, but it could have been on purpose). I could identify with both sides of this conflict, having grown up in a place where you had to be streetwise and a little mad, like Jerry, and at the same time being brought up with all the prissy middle class prejudices and standpoints, like Peter.

Made me think, I used to go to the theatre a lot, back in Venezuela and I so seldom do it here. Also, that this is the sort of thing I like: art that is not, or not just, 'entertainment', but which queries what it is that we are, what is this thing, being human. But that line of thought could quickly get exceedingly earnest and tacky, so I'll stop..