Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Todd in Venice

Der Tod in Venig

In the words of the immortal Marty Macfly, after realizing he may have just made his mother fall for him instead of his father before he was born, thus risking erasing himself from existence "this is heavy, doc".
Heavy... Beautiful, heart wrenching. This play literally ached with the most beautiful pain of human desire. A beautiful picture of the untenable and the unfulfilled longing for youth and companionship, destroyed by death. The use of the camera was phenomenal. Mixed media done at its absolute best. That shot through the plate while he's eating was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. A simple black set with lights so true to the Venice sun you actually felt this simmering summer the day taking place out on the patio (which we never actually see). The use of sound was breathtaking. The use of movement... that dance amid the ashes of plague and death was jaw dropping.

That mans voice was beautiful. I felt the heartache of old age and loneliness. Yes; he loved a young boy, but it was a pure love that could never be. The desire, in and of itself, was pure, and it's very core so intrinsically human. I was on the verge of a breakdown for the rest of the evening. There was script, mostly reading, but no words were necessary. Ironically, the most "important" lines of the play were in English...

Oh did I mention there was female nudity, wonderful female nudity? Well there was and amongst those raining ashes and that lit scrim, the visuals were haunting, like a terrifying yet beautiful painting.

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