I can't say that I was particularly familiar with The Boys From Syracuse anyway but there was very little about the production at the Union that would want me to investigate further. A witty script with a so-so score, there is very little to make us laugh, except for Kaisa Hammurland's turn as the Courtesan. The Union have a prolific musical theatre out-put but sometimes it can all seem a bit uninspiring. Throughout the year there are good productions - plays and musicals - but this just seemed like a filler in the schedule. It certainly looked like one!
Boys from Syracuse: Union Theatre
ReplyDeletePaul,
I watched the Boys from Syracuse on Saturday 12 October 2013 and have to disagree with most, if not all, of your comments. I had a marvellous evening: the show was funny, moving and contained some lovely singing.
But first of all I must declare an interest: Sharna David the costume designer for the show is my step-daughter.
My wife and I have watched Sharna’s development as a costume supervisor/designer with interest and excitement as we feel she has a special talent in this field. She is also smart, funny and endlessly patient in dealing with the varying demands and needs of actors, directors and designers.
It was disappointing for me therefore to read your caustic review of this show and in particular your comments that Sharna’s costumes were “woefully lacking polish”. This struck me as unnecessarily harsh, especially as I suspect you have little knowledge of what is involved in designing costumes for a show such as this from scratch.
The Union Theatre is not West End or Broadway. It is a small theatre with a small budget for shows of this type. Sharna was faced with designing the (numerous) costumes after suitable research, buying suitable material on a less than shoestring budget, spending endless hours at her sewing machine making them up, fitting them to actors within a very tight schedule, and adjusting them accordingly, all within three weeks. All this whilst planning for two other shows and waitressing in a local restaurant for 20 hours per week.
Perhaps you should try it and see how you get on!
Sharna knows more than anyone that the finished costumes were not polished. But had she had more time, more money, and some help from someone, somewhere, then they would have looked a million dollars, or a few thousand drachmas at LEAST. But in the circumstances I think she did a brilliant job, and the costumes looked great, evoking somewhat more that a “vague sense” of ancient Greece. To me they fitted the play perfectly.
Paul, perhaps you should open your heart a little and be more encouraging to young artists just starting out, instead of casually dismissing their work without fully understanding the pressures and constraints that they operate under in this sector of theatre.
Kind Regards
Rob Devaney
rob.devaney@hotmail.co.uk
Thank you for your comments, Rob however I am not surprised that you disagree with me, as you honestly state your interest as Sharna is your step-daughter.
ReplyDeleteI do however stand by my comments and contrary to your thoughts, I have been involved in many aspects of theatre design for much of my professional career. I know all too well the restrictions of time and budget where design, cutting, making and fitting is concerned. What other projects she was working on at the time is irrelevant where this review is concerned
What encourages me from your comments is that Sharna evidently agrees with me that the work was un-polished. Your step-daughter has embarked on a career where for 80% of the jobs there is never enough time, never enough budget and never enough assistance.
I look forward to seeing more of her work in the future.