I am so glad to hear that you got so much out of Baal…

Violence on stage can be a breathtakingly brutal thing – for my money the production of The Pillowman I saw in New York, still haunts me… I was utterly frightened and sick, and stunned and moved.

And yes, it is our responsibility to see the bigger picture/message of the play – but in this instance, I didn’t think that the way in which the message/idea was particularly compelling, or left us with anywhere to go. It is the journey that counts for me the most – and the journey for me was not engaging, inspiring, or cerebrally invigorating. I got the method, the style and the message in the first 5 minutes and failed to surprise, entice or seduce me.

I think there is one thing in being pushed away by theatre… but that reads most powerfully when you are being sucked in first. I wasn’t sucked in. I was alone, and bored and very separate from the action/characters. I sat righteous and aloof from the moment the mouths of the actors opened – there was no mystery for me to solve, or question to answer, or realisation to make that I hadn’t made before seeing the production.

The question for audiences is – did I get more out of seeing that production, than I would have had I read the play?

And so my response to that is – well the set was good – the lighting spectacular – but was the story surprising, compelling, engaging – for me, no.

But as an old portuguese man I once knew said to me – “for every cup there is a saucer”… I wasn’t this cup’s saucer and nor was this saucer suited to this cup.

Long time reader first time poster

I was not aware that Brecht had not conceived the idea of “Epic Theatre” when he wrote this play but I loved the production because the director did try to alienate us. It is one of the only examples I have seen where I did feel alienated in a Brecht play (or any play) and I think it is, in a way, a brave/bold choice to alienate an audience and not allow us to find redemption in a lead character.

I found being blasted with images of naked bodies and sexual acts transformed a pleasurable and beautiful act into something corrupt and unpleasant. I appreciated the blasting upon reflection.

It is also one of the only times I have seen violence so convincingly done on stage.

I certainly did feel frustration half way through the show wondering why am I seeing this douche bag artist (do you allow such language on your blog?)being all douchey. But then I started to see a bigger picture whereby those who have power are able to so casually destroy others and, ultimately, themselves.

I agree the poetry and delivery felt a bit labored but I did find the performances incredibly committed. I was again impressed that the performers allowed us to despise their characters and allow us to witness their destruction.