tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post4589656406223352561..comments2023-09-29T04:00:21.951-07:00Comments on followspot: Gardenfollowspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05390128032621439981noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-82190106229399455042007-10-17T11:24:00.000-07:002007-10-17T11:24:00.000-07:00The daughter sounded different from her parents be...The daughter sounded different from her parents because she was using RP English dialect which is a modern dialect among youth of England that makes them sound a little different from the standard English which was the dialect of the Parents. If you do travel around England you will find that the dialects are very different from each other, that is why maybe some audience members found it odd Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-11881559785844917632007-10-16T16:16:00.000-07:002007-10-16T16:16:00.000-07:00With regard to your immediate question, I'm inclin...With regard to your immediate question, I'm inclined to say get it right, independently of the other actors. However, the audience comes before everyone, and I personally found Ms. O'Brien's dialect -- no matter how on point it might have been -- too thick to follow at times. Is it really worthwhile to be authentic if it doesn't ultimately convey the story?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-17693654039740071732007-10-16T16:04:00.000-07:002007-10-16T16:04:00.000-07:00I agree with anon 3.31, but anon 3.54 brings up a ...I agree with anon 3.31, but anon 3.54 brings up a good question, which is...<BR/><BR/>...Should an actor (supposing that it is never discussed by the director, as it should be) adjust the quality of his/her speech <B>down</B> to match the fellow actors if they are not up to the same level? What if the fellow-actors are absolutely atrocious, which didn't occur in this instance by any means, but Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-48074018510054341502007-10-16T15:54:00.000-07:002007-10-16T15:54:00.000-07:00Perhaps she was but she stood out as unusual becau...Perhaps she was but she stood out as unusual because no one else sounded like her. Not even her parents.<BR/><BR/>Makes it look like <I>she</I> was not accurate when in fact she was very good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-87798212180451417322007-10-16T03:31:00.000-07:002007-10-16T03:31:00.000-07:00I thought the daughter was spot on, accent-wise.I thought the daughter was spot on, accent-wise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-35176647256632513192007-10-16T00:31:00.000-07:002007-10-16T00:31:00.000-07:00The dialect support was not strong for this show, ...The dialect support was not strong for this show, and the actors were underserved by it. This wasn't their fault, and all did the best they could under the circumstances. <BR/><BR/>I would have loved to have seen a "House and Garden" with as much dedication to dialect work as there is to any other aspect of theatre -- if there are fight calls, there certainly ought to be dialect calls, with Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-81818762533045698932007-10-13T23:46:00.000-07:002007-10-13T23:46:00.000-07:00I don't think it would be too difficult, if one tr...I don't think it would be too difficult, if one traversed England, to find a great, great variety of accents -- and many of them would be difficult for our American ears to understand. Really, I think vast variety in regional dialects is common in most countries (when I lived in Europe I experienced them firsthand in both Germany and England). Think of the difference between born and bred Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-82168327153695951512007-10-12T14:48:00.000-07:002007-10-12T14:48:00.000-07:00It was my impression (and sincere hope) that the o...It was my impression (and sincere hope) that the oddly accented couple were played as foreigners who'd learned English in the Borders. That would explain why they were so, um, odd. I don't care for the directing decision, but I'm choosing to believe that it was Kretzu's decision and not Mendelsonn's incompetence. His accent was fine in <I>Orson's Shadow</I>. Anybody know for sure either way?Ben Waterhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07408170419990410576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-15984098403671581882007-10-12T13:24:00.000-07:002007-10-12T13:24:00.000-07:00I don't have my program handy so please bear with ...I don't have my program handy so please bear with me. The young "couple" was fantastic. Very believable actors with superb accents. I laughed aloud several times during the show, but otherwise, I was pretty much bored to tears. Particularly whenever Lucille was talking. Could she have spoken just a little more en Francais (note sarcasm)? Mr. Kretzu should have cut her "speeches" liberally. I feltAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-26178147184532755442007-10-09T13:13:00.000-07:002007-10-09T13:13:00.000-07:00We often find ourselves bemoaning a show whose act...We often find ourselves bemoaning a show whose acting outshines the writing; I just didn't expect it to happen with Ayckbourn! I didn't like this one -- which is not to say I didn't enjoy it. No, it has lots of lovely and hilarious bits, and the cast tackles them gamely, but it was altogether too episodic, piecemeal, silly and cheap. If I were to guess, I'd say Ayckbourn wrote "House" first, Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-6135874284653550522007-09-22T07:27:00.000-07:002007-09-22T07:27:00.000-07:00Thanks! Sorry.Thanks! Sorry.followspothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05390128032621439981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-46928264850334150242007-09-22T03:25:00.000-07:002007-09-22T03:25:00.000-07:00I think it's spelled "Caffall"I think it's spelled "Caffall"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-19231675145093300912007-09-20T18:21:00.000-07:002007-09-20T18:21:00.000-07:00Although funny at times, this whole enterprise see...Although funny at times, this whole enterprise seemed like an astounding amount of energy for very little payoff. I kept asking myself, "Why two plays simultaneously?" Both could have been cut by 30 minutes and still said the same thing. Although there were some fun characters, overall I was left feeling like it was a chinese food of a play. It goes right through you and then you forget it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7524728.post-46477404958836052282007-09-20T16:09:00.000-07:002007-09-20T16:09:00.000-07:00I feel the same way about the fountain--all that w...I feel the same way about the fountain--all that work for a lousy sight gag?--but the damn thing's in the script!Ben Waterhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07408170419990410576noreply@blogger.com