May

14

Don’t Get Your Knickers In A Twist.

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

May 14, 2008 |

underpants.jpgRecently my wife and I went to a production of The Underpants, a play translated and adapted by Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin as the press releases announced) from an original by Carl Sternheim which was first performed in 1910. In his notes, director Lane Davies admitted that this was light farce, not requiring the serious attention or explication of Ibsen or Albee. He says it’s “a sexy and light-hearted look at fame, fantasy, and relationships.” This ain’t Julius Caesar, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Most of the plays that have survived and still get performed on a regular basis are heavy works by heavyweight authors. There’s nothing wrong with a light play about a woman whose underwear accidentally falls in public–which turns out to be a life-changing experience for her.

Because it’s the heavyweights who still get their names dropped in theater companies and English departments it’s easy to forget that, before film, and even during the rise of film, plays were the kind of cultural lingua franca that movies are now. And once in a while reading a book I’ll run across a story of a play being so bad, so shocking, or so downright bizarre that the audience rioted. Occasionally audiences have done that at the movies–during screenings of Un Chien Andalou, for instance–but when it’s a play it’s different because the actors aren’t projections, they’re real live people. I know that’s painfully obvious, but it’s something I think about every time I go see a play. We’re used to seeing action recorded, or, even when it’s live, it’s transmitted to our televisions, which are basically just another piece of furniture. A play is different. Even if the actors get through opening night with nothing going wrong it’s more exciting than heavily edited film because it’s an ephemeral experience. Maybe it’s because a performance is so transitory that theater has lasted so long.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. laughingwolf on May 14, 2008 7:18 am

    can’t stand martin, but the book sounds good… thx chris :)

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