Monthly culture: October 2019
Wednesday, November 13th, 2019 04:56 pmA very quiet month.
05OCT19: A Doll's House (Ibsen) - Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
A splendid production: the action is transposed to 1870s Calcutta, which adds a whole new layer of colonialism. ('Tom prefers me in saris'.) Dr Rank, Krogstad and Kristine Linde are all reimagined: Dr Rank as a fiercely pro-Indian reformer, Krogstad as an oppressed clerk with revolutionary tendencies, Mrs Linde as a widow in white ("there's no one to keep me from working"). Nora, now Niru, is played with depth and subtlety by Anjana Vasan, trying to maintain her integrity and maturity in the face of her husband's determination to infantalise her. Visually beautiful and emotionally wrenching.
19OCT19: Maleficent, Mistress of Evil - Greenwich Picturehouse
I liked the first one a lot (my 2014 review). I did not like this one very much at all. Much less feminism, eco-awareness, coherence, heart. More CGI battle scenes, though.
05OCT19: A Doll's House (Ibsen) - Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
A splendid production: the action is transposed to 1870s Calcutta, which adds a whole new layer of colonialism. ('Tom prefers me in saris'.) Dr Rank, Krogstad and Kristine Linde are all reimagined: Dr Rank as a fiercely pro-Indian reformer, Krogstad as an oppressed clerk with revolutionary tendencies, Mrs Linde as a widow in white ("there's no one to keep me from working"). Nora, now Niru, is played with depth and subtlety by Anjana Vasan, trying to maintain her integrity and maturity in the face of her husband's determination to infantalise her. Visually beautiful and emotionally wrenching.
19OCT19: Maleficent, Mistress of Evil - Greenwich Picturehouse
I liked the first one a lot (my 2014 review). I did not like this one very much at all. Much less feminism, eco-awareness, coherence, heart. More CGI battle scenes, though.