SFTheatreLiverpool

[greengryphon]

Did any one see the stage adaption of The Illuminatus Trilogy in 1970's?
Must have been a far out experience...

Infact Michael, were you involved in theatre at all?

[Michael Moorcock]

I've been peripherally involved in theatre over the years. Behold the Man has been staged once or twice, though I haven't seen the performances. It was done in France, I know. I wish I'd had more time to work in the theatre, since I'm a huge theatre-goer. Or am, when I live near theatres to go to.

[greengryphon]

PlaysSeen

I've been peripherally involved in theatre over the years. Behold the Man has been staged once or twice, though I haven't seen the performances. It was done in France, I know. I wish I'd had more time to work in the theatre, since I'm a huge theatre-goer. Or am, when I live near theatres to go to.

Do not know the story, except from brief reveiw...my friend tells me "It's brilliant..." best Moorcock he's read.

Have seen -
Messiah-Scenes from a Crucifixion (Berkoff) in London.
http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/theatre/messiah

& more topically Heroes
http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/re...p/10096/heroes

Which theatre productions are memorable for you?

[Michael Moorcock]

Haven't seen Heroes. Did you enjoy it ?
We used to go to seasons at the Royal Shakespeare, Stratford on Avon, seeing mostly Shakespeare, some Jacobean and some Restoration. Pretty safe to say if you name them, we saw them. Then in London we went regularly to the Royal Court and the National (most recently to a revival of The Alchemist which we didn't like). We like Sondheim musicals, so saw all of them, many times (I think 11 visits to Follies was the record, because we'd take visitors). Saw most of the big musicals, although didn't think a lot of most of them (Lloyd Weber for instance) though the last we saw was probably Bombay Dreams. We would go to dance regularly, too and would buy season tickets for Dance Umbrella in London, which would have modern dance companies from all over the world. And concerts at Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Albert Hall and elsewhere.
We also went to productions of Gilbert and Sullivan at the Savoy (before it burned again) and had season tickets for the Old Vic (though under Jonathan Miller many were disappointing) as well as attending the Young Vic and the various theatres in the round, such as The Swan and the Globe. Essentially, we went to a lot more live theatre than, for instance, movies, but we also went to the movies a fair bit, especially what are commonly called 'art movies'. In Texas we did attend a fair number of local live theatres when we first got here, but found ourselves a bit disappointed. The simple fact is that London tends to attract the best anglophone actors, including Americans (cf Spacey and the OV) and there just isn't a better city we know for theatre. New York is a very poor second, both for productions and for acting. As Sondheim, who has been better represented and had longer runs in London than New York, said, there's a strong argument for publicly funded theatre, which allows producers to put on performances which might not otherwise ever get staged. In my view, Arts Council funding for theatre is the best way of spending the (increasingly limited) available money. I'd say Grand Opera is the worst way, but that's one of those ongoing arguments. Even when we're in Paris and only get the train to London for a few days, we always manage to get to the theatre at least once. We also go to French theatre, especially comedies, since we're great fans of French comic style, but French TV is wonderful because it consistently broadcasts current plays. We do, I must admit, also tend to go to see favourite actors. When we lived in London/Oxford we were especially fond of Alan Rickman and Simon Russell Beale, along with perhaps bigger names, at least at the time. The first play I saw as a child (pantomine and so on aside) was Julius Caesar at the Old Vic with, as I recall, John Gielgud.
Loved Beckett and was pretty fond of Pinter, but also liked Pirandello and, of course, the likes of Bernard Shaw. Saw all John Osborne as it appeared and Arnold Wesker. Revivals of Wilde, Synge and so on. David Mamet. A memorable Caligula by Camus. Arthur Miller. Eugene O'Neill.
Tennessee Williams. I've enjoyed some Tom Stoppard, but wouldn't say he was my favourite by a long shot. Same with Michael Frayne. Both are very successful and popular but not greatly to my taste. Like Alan Bennett. Anyway, I do tend to find good theatre the most sastisfying of all.

[greengryphon]

A Taste of Theatre

I feel theatrically impoverished now...having seen only a sprinkling of plays...and treading the boards of the school hall twice as a child for amateur productions, The Potted History Of The World As We Know It...running on, shouting "Friends! Romans! Countrymen! lend me your ears", to be summarily pelted by two feet sized "shell-like's" stage right,....and as The Fish Footman in "Alices Adventures in Wonderland", (should have been Alice or though some would agree the Dormouse)....Treacle!

I enjoyed Heroes, (taking into account that the theatre experience itself is novelty for me, and can sway my judgement) The actors had large stage presence, great comic timing, and the intimacy of the characters was portrayed cleverly.

Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream was my theatrical deflowering. followed later by Bertolt Brecht's The Resistable Rise of Aturo Ui. Ah the wonderous variety...
August Strindberg's The Dance of Death with Francis de La Tour and Ian McKellan. (Dark treacle).

Music in drama...hmm...Dont think I can tolerate Musicals...apart from the film West Side Story.
Now drama in music..thats another thing. Case in point, The Pretty Things, S.F.Sorrow with Arthur Brown narrating (Raw viscous treacle).

I enjoy the use of quick reposts in French drama, or as I read somewhere "The rising crescendo of insults."

Mentioning Guilgud is pulling rank! You'll be telling us you saw Richard Burton next.


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...................THe Dormouse

[Michael Moorcock]

I don't like most musicals, but Sondheim's are just so much better than the average they are worth it. See Johnny Depp's going to play Sweeney Todd in the forthcoming film version of that. I did see Sean Connery in an early role in one of the Shakespeare historical plays. I think he played Hotspur. But not Burton, I think. The trick about going to the theatre is to book well in advance. If you wait to go on the spur of the moment you often can't be bothered and go to a movie instead. We found that buying season tickets at some theatres actually encouraged us to go regularly and got us, generally, better seats for less money. The 'half-price' kiosk in Leicester Square's still worth patronising, if you're in London.