Zoiechka
23rd November 2002, 18:40
Review of:
Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time
By Zoya Raysberg
The play opens with the Russian secret police unleashing their wrath on a young rebel poet. Shortly thereafter we are introduced to Rose, a singer, and her husband, a prison doctor. As the play unfolds we meet Masha, the mother of the young rebellious poet; her husband, a renown poet who is sought after by the government; and a character known as "The Angel," who represents the prison authorities and the force that acts against those striving to create art. We soon learn that the older poet, husband of Masha is having an affair with Rose. The doctor's suspicions and a poem he finds in his home are the catalyst for the turmoil that unfurls before the audience.
Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time is a play that intertwines the words of 20th century Russian and American poets and songwriters, such as Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelson, William Blake and Bob Dylan, with the story of a group of artists with in the former Soviet Union who are determined to challenge the omnipresent Soviet government.
The production is a surreal look at the way that artists have fought for justice throughout time and the consequences that were all too real to them. The fantastical feel of the play comes through in the acting and sound, such as the musical accompaniment, and is communicated simply, yet beautifully through the design of the set.
At first glance, the set is minimal and geometric, with red and drab gray being the dominant colors. It is the actors and the lighting, for the most part, that take us to new locations on the same structures. The one exception to this is the bedroom of the Rose and The Doctor, which, in contrast to the rest of the set, is very realistic, indeed-a small glimpse of reality, held above the surrealism of the play, itself.
Director, Tom Clyde, who co-wrote the play with Coley Lally, provides an interesting view of the struggle of creating art despite fierce opposition as well as giving a new sound to the words of some of the writers and poets whom we know and those whom we have yet to explore. The cast, comprised of David Austin-Groen, Lasse Christiansen, Melanie Flood, John, Nahigian, Lucy Owen, and Michael Shipley (in alphabetical order) did a tremendous job of bringing life to the characters in Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time.
This is an interesting play that moved me, made me think, and entertained the audience. It runs approximately two hours, including a fifteen-minute intermission. Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time runs though December 8th at the Transparent Theater in Berkeley. For more information call the theatre at (510) 883-0305 or visit them on the web at www.transparenttheater.org.
Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time
By Zoya Raysberg
The play opens with the Russian secret police unleashing their wrath on a young rebel poet. Shortly thereafter we are introduced to Rose, a singer, and her husband, a prison doctor. As the play unfolds we meet Masha, the mother of the young rebellious poet; her husband, a renown poet who is sought after by the government; and a character known as "The Angel," who represents the prison authorities and the force that acts against those striving to create art. We soon learn that the older poet, husband of Masha is having an affair with Rose. The doctor's suspicions and a poem he finds in his home are the catalyst for the turmoil that unfurls before the audience.
Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time is a play that intertwines the words of 20th century Russian and American poets and songwriters, such as Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelson, William Blake and Bob Dylan, with the story of a group of artists with in the former Soviet Union who are determined to challenge the omnipresent Soviet government.
The production is a surreal look at the way that artists have fought for justice throughout time and the consequences that were all too real to them. The fantastical feel of the play comes through in the acting and sound, such as the musical accompaniment, and is communicated simply, yet beautifully through the design of the set.
At first glance, the set is minimal and geometric, with red and drab gray being the dominant colors. It is the actors and the lighting, for the most part, that take us to new locations on the same structures. The one exception to this is the bedroom of the Rose and The Doctor, which, in contrast to the rest of the set, is very realistic, indeed-a small glimpse of reality, held above the surrealism of the play, itself.
Director, Tom Clyde, who co-wrote the play with Coley Lally, provides an interesting view of the struggle of creating art despite fierce opposition as well as giving a new sound to the words of some of the writers and poets whom we know and those whom we have yet to explore. The cast, comprised of David Austin-Groen, Lasse Christiansen, Melanie Flood, John, Nahigian, Lucy Owen, and Michael Shipley (in alphabetical order) did a tremendous job of bringing life to the characters in Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time.
This is an interesting play that moved me, made me think, and entertained the audience. It runs approximately two hours, including a fifteen-minute intermission. Eternity is in Love With the Production of Time runs though December 8th at the Transparent Theater in Berkeley. For more information call the theatre at (510) 883-0305 or visit them on the web at www.transparenttheater.org.