So we went to see 'Rock 'n' Roll' on Saturday, at the Duke of York theatre (freakishly small seats; I'm only 5'3 and my toes were crushed up against the balcony, so they'd be hell if you're tall). It was lovely, and also gave me a great sense of closure.
Yonks ago (1993) I went to see another play by Tom Stoppard: 'Arcadia', with Bill Nighy, Felicity Kendal, Rufus Sewell, and Emma Fielding, amongst others. I loved it greatly, wrote about it for my A' levels, recorded it when they put it on the radio, re-read the script every now and then, and remembered it always. Somewhat irrelevantly, I think Sam would love it - a lot of it was about advanced maths. Romance and Chaos Theory.
'Rock 'n' Roll' was about communist / Czechoslovakian politics and rock 'n' roll. There's lots of good reviews out there about it, so I shan't add to them, other that to give my personal vote for it being wonderful. A lot of the politics was over my head – I knew just enough to know who Vaclav Havel is, and remembered some of the politics from my childhood (my mum is very political / knowledgeable about all that - our dog was called Trotsky). But to get back to the closure: 'Arcadia' had a tragic ending for Emma Fielding and Rufus Sewell's characters, who were sort-of-but-not-exactly in love. This one had Emma Fielding and (in the original cast) Rufus Sewell playing similar characters to those in Arcadia – just several years older, and set in a different time. And they end happily. So I was mightily pleased. Okay, so Rufus Sewell had been replaced, but... After fourteen years, versions of the characters I loved in one of the best plays I've ever seen got to have the happy ending I'd wished for, in another play that I thought was fantastic.
Oh, the relief. :)
Yeesh. I'm a disgrace, probably. My brother is interested in politics. He and my mum have long, political discussions. I haven't known who's in the Cabinet since Thatcher was in power. I just can't seem to pay attention – I do vote, I do think it's important, but I just... my brain switches off. Perhaps I'm being reactionary – my main recollections of my mother's politics is going on protest marches to support the Miner's Strike, and not enjoying it in the slightest. And being thrown off buses for the 'Can't Pay – Won't Pay' campaign. Brother was too young to be aware of it at the height of all this, but I was just old enough to dislike it thoroughly - even though I pretty much agree with it all, now. Even then, I think she explained it to me, and I did agree with what she was doing – I just didn't want to be involved, myself.
Maybe I'm making her sound terrible. She really wasn't – she just believed that individuals should stand up for what they believe in. She does feel guilty for dragging me on those things. Personally, I'm glad I went – I like to have had that experience. But I do think it helped to make me the extremely non-confrontational person I am today.
Ooh, look. Semi-serious lj.
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chasethestars
chasethestars