tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906602646001889520.post6679876764461107642..comments2024-01-16T14:14:20.243+08:00Comments on Perth Theatre Reviews: The Trial of C.Y. O'Connor - ARENAarts (18 May 2014)Richard Hydehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02712910703714649480noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906602646001889520.post-20014497111379986782014-05-31T13:10:20.140+08:002014-05-31T13:10:20.140+08:00That is the key statement though, Bree - the scrip...That is the key statement though, Bree - the script didn't bring the drama that should be inherent to the genre. To not give CY O'Connor a voice made it feel more like an intellectual exercise than an emotional one which rendered the play dramatically inert. Yes, the actors and director did the best with what they had to work with but there was the opportunity to do so much more with the concept. <br /><br />Even if there were but two scenes added - at the end of the first act an agitated O'Connor takes his lawyer to task because "I'm getting killed out there"; and before the final summation either a morose O'Connor bemoans his fate or is inconsolable as the lawyer tries to put a positive spin on things. The emotional beats to explain the trajectory that ends with the aural announcement of his demise. Richard Hydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712910703714649480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4906602646001889520.post-54454024584345369012014-05-31T11:44:45.425+08:002014-05-31T11:44:45.425+08:00Richard:
'Where is the fire, the thunder, the ...Richard:<br />'Where is the fire, the thunder, the anger, the drama, the rage?'<br />I think your review is skewed by the fact that the play may not have been, as you expected, a version of Twelve Angry Men or The Last Days of Judas Iscariot or even A Few Good Men.<br />It was never touted as anything but a courtroom drama, and even the director noted that the setting in a courtroom made it quite staid.<br />Knowing (as I did) that the play was going to be a courtroom, I enjoyed the performances. I agree that the different acting styles of different actors didn't gel all that well together, however I think the understated performances were really very good. I especially liked Caroline McDonnell as the obviously overawed and frightened Mrs Irvine. Taken in isolation, each performer was able to develop a character around their part - so we felt like each new character was a new person.<br />My opinion is that the script doesn't give enough scope. I agree that CY O'Connor needed to get much more airtime, but if that wasn't possible, I should have liked to see the character expanded considerably - his teeny amount of time in the hotseat, and his polite answers to the questions asked, gave us no opportunity to really know the character. I also agree that there could have been tension buildup as O'Connor became closer and closer to a suicidal state. But these are faults of the script, not the performances.<br />With the material they had, the performers and director did a really good job.<br />Bree Vreedenburgh<br /><br /><br />HypoBreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03810946262205864964noreply@blogger.com