Asaf Bartov (ijon) wrote,
Asaf Bartov
ijon

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Passion Porn

Dad chickened out of going to the theater with Mom tonight, so jumped at the ticket. We saw "Passion Play" by Peter Nichols, performed by the Beit Lessin theatrical group, starring Sasson Gabay, Nathan Datner, and Yonah Elian. The acting was excellent (Datner really shone), but I was very disappointed with either the playwright or the director, I can't quite tell.

It was... low. It was vulgar; far too much tit-grabbing (and not only from the outside of the blouse), far too many actresses in lingerie. The play seems to want to be tragi-comic -- the comic parts were okay, but the dramatic parts, despite the acting, were diluted by the playwright/director's insistence on constant disrobing, gratuitous half-nudity, and downright pornographic contact between the actors. I am not puritanical, and I can stomach (even full) nudity in art, as long as I feel that it is justified. I can't see that it was necessary in this play, supposedly a very good one. The very well-executed gimmick of two actors for each character (one verbalizing the character's thoughts, and performing "mental" facial expressions and gesticulations) does not redeem the play of its vulgarity. A pity.
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