I agree to some extent. And the same applies to live music compared with recorded - or even live on TV. We went to see Verdi's Requiem at the local cathedral some time ago - it was FANTASTIC!
I did enjoy Hamlet tonight - as did son (22) and, to be honest, if it has been at the theatre it is highly unlikely I would have gone. Not cos I don't like it - it's just so expensive especially after Xtmas.
So TV/film/DVD makes these things so much more accesible.
Does anyone remember the fantastic BBC2 Shakespeare season about 15 years ago? decent plays are THAT rare on TV.
Pirates of Penzance was on TV yesterday too - by an Australian theatre - also fabulous and hilarious. It's definitely worth looking out for them or any G&S done by them.
I had this very conversation earlier today; do we know one another?! :shock:
I don't think plays written for the theatre or voices ever really work on television; that little box can't contain them, or in containing them ruins them - especially Shakespeare - for me.
Similarly opera, which I love live but loathe on television.
It dies for me viewed through a lens; that energy and excitement and tension and spittle and sweat all disappear. Smell of the greasepaint and all that!
Some plays written for tv can be great; and so can those few-handers from the 70s like 'Home' - and some Pinteresque stuff - they are small enough - but anything with real drama and grandeur is flattened by the medium of tv.
There is always something about the immediacy of live performance that adds a certain dimension. However, like foxy, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to see the RSC do a performance that I would never have got the chance to see otherwise because of many reasons (finance, geography, time etc)
TV and film also make some things much more accessible to a much wider audience.
Well to my mind a play that was written for the stage,is meant to be on the stage and not on tv..
The reason is say is because a play that has a lot of emotion in it can be played better on the stage ,where the people watching the play can feel the emotion in it,and i feel you can't feel that emotion when a play in show on the tv.
I don't know if anyone remember the radio show from the 30's and 40's,they did a stage version of it which myself and other half went to see,it was a radio show done on the stage and was very very funny,and to my mind i don.t think i would have enjoyed it as much if i had listened to it on the radio (please forgive me if i am drifting of the point slighty)..
I think it is possible to enjoy both mediums. Both have much to offer. For me, there is intimacy on both the stage and on the box. I feel that the closeness of two lovers on a stage can easily be compared with the closeness on tv. Certainly there is their physicality on stage but there is also their facial expressions that can seen better on tv.
Some sets would never work on the box. Some would never work on the stage but only on the box. I feel to exclude a medium is a great shame since there is the chance of missing something good.
Interesting topic
Generally i think there are merits to both forms - but when there is a crossover then there is a difference.
We went to see Hamlet at stratford with the cast on the TV. It was so much more intense live - especially as it was seen in the round nearly so you had cast members rushing on from behind you. I would have to admit all the girls in my family were smitten by the fact that david tennant was only a foot away on many occasions. Oddly enough there were many times when it was actually very funny on stage which was not conveyed on the TV at all. Saying that however i think that Patrick Stewart performs better on screen than live - but that i feel is as a result of his close work.
Anyway I thought it was great that they televised the performance which i think was as a result of DT's Back injury when they went to london. It costs nothing to see (other than a TV licence) - but nothing can beat a live performance.
Anyway gabbling now ...
Alan
I'm someone who has worked in both mediums extensively.
I think it largely depends on the play. The Colour Of Justice worked very well on both formats. Certain types of play will not work as on the screen and visa versa, but there is no hard and fast rule.
Productions such as Bugsy Malone have been very sucessful and some of the best play and films started life in the other format. Good examples of these would be - A FEW GOOD MEN, 12 ANGRY MEN, SHAWKSHANK REDEMPTION and FAME.
This list is a long one, which as with everything is subject to personal taste.
The first example, Colour Of Justice, was a straight filming of the play.
We did the same with the Victoria Climbie Inquiry.
