Happy Birthday dear Smelly!

Yes, it was my sister's birthday yesterday and she celebrated with me in Lincoln. We have referred to each other as Stinky (me) and Smelly (her) for many years now. Not entirely sure where that tradition came from, though I seem to remember it had its origins in a contentious game of 'Monopoly' which I undoubtedly won as I am a big, capitalist bully. Anyways, we had a great time together. My little sister is now 26...shocking!

Other than that...the weekend was spent in Edinburgh with the Warden clan. Lovely to catch up with Carrubbers folks and family alike. This week has, so far, been quietly hectic as we approach assessment next week. All seems to be well and I sat in on my first tech rehearsal today - very exciting!

Currently about to start wading my way through the books for Post-Modern British drama. Looking forward to reading Equus and a bit of Pinter. Less excited about the 'In-Yer-Face' theatre stuff. For those of you unaware of this phenomenon, it relies on shock as the ultimate meaning in a world without meaning (got it so far?). Here is Aleks Sierz's description of it:

In-yer-face theatre shocks audiences by the extremism of its language and images; unsettles them by its emotional frankness and disturbs them by its acute questioning of moral norms. It not only sums up the zeitgeist, but criticises it as well. Most in-yer-face plays are not interested in showing events in a detached way and allowing audiences to speculate about them; instead, they are experiential - they want audiences to feel the extreme emotions that are being shown on stage. In-yer-face theatre is experiential.

While recognising its successes (at least it gives the audience a bit of a shake), I have a few problems with this movement. It feels like a group of (largely) middle class neurotics who are infinitely more concerned with their own ego than the state of the world. One of the truly tremendous things about theatre is its immediacy and the way it can grab people, give them a thorough dressing down and send them on their way thinking. I have no specific problem with shock tactics. In fact, take a play like The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui for a truly unsettling experience. But I find in-yer-face theatre's obsession with being 'shocking', with 'disturbing' the audience rather tiresome. For me theatre is a medium of change and challenge, not a chance to pat ourselves on the back, swear a lot and come up with the most extreme images simply to create "exciting, crucial, modern theatre, darling". So, I'm hoping to be able to instigate this sort of chat with the students and see what they think.

Anyways, tonight holds a falafel and hummus sandwich, a bit of work and the chance to enjoy Ironman. I haven't seen this film yet but D ordered it for me so I could watch it before the second one comes out in March. Hoorah, an evening with Robert Downey Jnr! Not quite as good as an evening with D...but you can't have everything :-)

CSW