Royal Court; Queen Elizabeth Hall; Southwark Playhouse, London
Haunted Child is its own ghost. Joe Penhall's new play is like a strange afterbirth, an epilogue, an addendum that flits around the stage when the main action has finished.
Penhall, who wrote the screenplays for The Road and Enduring Love, established himself as a writer for the theatre 11 years ago with Blue/Orange, in which he made a debate – about race and psychiatry – twist and turn as few others now do on stage. In Haunted Child the central confrontation is muffled. On one side is a woman – rational, anxious, sharp-witted – battling to protect her son after the unexplained disappearance of his dad. On the other is Dad, who, when he bobs up, turns out to have taken up with a new-age religious sect whose leadership demand that he glugs down pailfuls of salt water, abstains from sex, and hands over a tithe of his property.
Haunted Child is its own ghost. Joe Penhall's new play is like a strange afterbirth, an epilogue, an addendum that flits around the stage when the main action has finished.
Penhall, who wrote the screenplays for The Road and Enduring Love, established himself as a writer for the theatre 11 years ago with Blue/Orange, in which he made a debate – about race and psychiatry – twist and turn as few others now do on stage. In Haunted Child the central confrontation is muffled. On one side is a woman – rational, anxious, sharp-witted – battling to protect her son after the unexplained disappearance of his dad. On the other is Dad, who, when he bobs up, turns out to have taken up with a new-age religious sect whose leadership demand that he glugs down pailfuls of salt water, abstains from sex, and hands over a tithe of his property.
- 12/18/2011
- by Susannah Clapp
- The Guardian - Film News
Tchaikovsky's romantic masterpiece Eugene Onegin, based on the Pushkin poem, returns to the Met on Friday, January 30, with a superb international cast. American baritone Thomas Hampson returns to the role of Onegin, the haughty aristocrat who acknowledges love too late, opposite the Finnish soprano Karita Mattila making her Met role debut as Tatiana, who grows from a love-struck young girl to an aristocratic woman. Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk is her sister, Olga; Polish tenor Piotr Beczala is Lenski, Onegin's doomed friend; and Russian bass Sergei Aleksashkin is Gremin, the elderly prince who marries Tatiana. Aleksashkin will sing the first two performances and American bass James Morris, taking on the role for the first time at the Met, does the remainder of the run. Czech maestro Jiř? Bĕlohl?vek conducts all performances, through February 21. The production is by Robert Carsen, sets and costumes are by Michael Levine, Jean Kalman is the lighting designer,...
- 1/26/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.