The Play Podcast is a podcast dedicated to exploring the greatest new and classic plays. In each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing.
I think Nina's recap of the plot highlights one of the biggest issues with the play. All that is mentioned is the petty conflicts of the middle class couples with the working class victim being an afterthought. Despite the title being 'Consent' it is an issue that is barely explored in place for a soap opera story about a group of very unlikeable and privileged group of people. Too many dinner parties, too many Tories, too much sympathy for Edward who is arguably the most despicable character. Instead of properly challenging the justice system which makes it extremely difficult for woman to lock up rapists and sexual abusers it seems to apologise for it, accept it and it just didn't feel right to me. The moments with Gayle are the most interesting and challenging parts of the play. She is seldom featured or given a true voice and just when it looks like she is at the end of the first act she is killed off and quickly forgotten only to be jammed in as a ghost in the final scene. This play had a lot of potential but unfortunately fell short due to it's writers privileged, restricted upper middle class lens.
I love this play so, so, so much and I have since I first read it a few years ago. I really hope that the National Theatre brings it to their streaming platform because I have never seen it in performance, and with Denise Gough reviving the role... I am dying to see it! 😍 I haven't listened to the podcast episode yet (😅🤣), but I saw it and jumped. I have added it to my morning jogging playlist and can't wait to hear it!
I just saw this play last night at the Yale Rep and had such an incredible experience, and I saw it - appropriately perhaps - alone. Getting to hear this conversation about the play is so wonderful after not being able to discuss it with anyone!
If I may add just a thought that keeps recurring as I think about the play, I believe the women's monologues are each, in themselves, an apocalypse. Vi's world is shattered as she realizes the mistake she made, and loses her "world" of her son (the fear of what has already happened). Sally loses the world to her fear of cats, where truly nothing is untouched by it, physical or mental (or the fear of anticipating something that is yet to happen). Lena loses the world by losing interest, where everything dies to her perception - not wanting to be disappointed by the presence of anything. As for Mrs. Jarret, she expresses all of those [un] natural, macro apocalypses of various elemental influences and - as you pointed out - capitalist origins. I wonder about her personal apocalypse! To end my rambling, Perhaps as much as we fear the end of the world, we might see the glimpses at each of the characters during tea time as equally apocalyptic, and be encouraged to fear the end of our inner world as we fall victim to our own natural disasters? Just a whole whopping two cents from me. ;)
Directors are clinging on race as a theme. Look at the history of productions in the U.K. to see how when Othello was played by a white actor in blackface, Othello was the main role. Now that Othello is played by a black actor, Iago is the main character.
Please do not censor this post as it is the opinion of English playwright *David Hare* , and the link provided has the actual opinion expressed by David Hare himself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hare_(playwright) *David Hare* thinks Oleanna is a terribly mysoginist play He summarises it saying that it's a play that says that " *a woman is always faking when she claims rape* " Here is David Hare expressing his opinion ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xtvlJVIJnRU.html
17:00 on the speaker claims Heisenberg says it’s possible. Cost would not have entered the conversation on wether to move forward in Germany. Maybe Heisenberg wanted to conspire with physicists to try to hide the possibilities of nuclear weaponry.
It could be that Heisenberg used the argument about cost to justify his actions after the fact. It is difficult to know the truth of course, which itself is one of the themes of the play. Thanks for listening!
I've just read the play, unfortunately I won't be able to see it on stage, Corona is beckoning - , but I do hope it's going to be on the Nat.Theatre at home.
