Return of the prodigal blogger ~ theatre notes

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Return of the prodigal blogger

George Hunka is back at a smart new site, a new play in his pocket, after a meditative few weeks hanging out Montauk with burbling nature (and Edward Albee, which is probably not at all the same thing) at the Albee Foundation.

Here at TN we've been sorely missing his voice in the blogmix, but he's assuaging us already with notes on Wedekind, contemporary French theatre, a quote on Messiaen and Schönberg (which contains my latest favourite phrase, "liberated dissonance") and, of course, the ongoing Organum, where he dares to speak of love. Sadly but understandably, the comments section is gone, but he courteously provides an email address for conversation.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, thank you, Ms. C. It's good indeed to be back.

Unknown said...

thanks for the link to organum. how wonderful. put it up on my little blogthing, which has benefited from your kind encouragement. nice to finally have a 'blogger identity'. farewell, anonymity.

my housemate is studying screenwriting. in a recent issue of the writers' union magazine, hannie rayson was interviewed about her work, with a particular focus on 'two brothers'. she spoke about what she felt was an extreme amount of 'personal vitriol', particularly from 'one woman who's been bagging me ever since Hotel Sorrento'.

are you that woman? my housemate (a regular theatrenoter and my favorite partner in cynical crime)and I really hope so.

i want to ask you many questions about lear's misogyny but it's too late on sunday night.

Alison Croggon said...

Hi Ben - does that mean you're public now? Congratulations!

As for your query: I believe I am that woman. Certainly, as I keep hearing, Ms Rayson has no hesitation in telling her dinner guests, colleagues, acquaintances and so on that I am evil incarnate, or at least very nasty indeed. She obviously thinks a lot more about me than I do about her, which is a bit creepy. But she's quite right: her plays are wholly above criticism, and the only reason one might write negatively about them would be from personal viciousness and spite...

Anonymous said...

You are quite right Alison...just as the only reason most state theatre companies choose not to produce the works of Joanna Murray Smith is that they are all consumed with personal viciousness and spite...

Anonymous said...

Right on. Hannie and "The Poodle" make David Williamson look positively thick skinned.

Unknown said...

sorry but what is "The Poodle"?

Anonymous said...

You've never seen Joanna Murray-Smith Ben?

Unknown said...

oh i get it. how naughty. trying not to laugh on the inside.

i got talking to a 70ish polish-born woman tonight at the shaun parker show. she was telling me how much she loved theatre, and how she'd recently seen the bolshoi ballet do the nutcracker. i was trying to strike up a conversation about grotowski when she told me how much she'd loved 'The Glass Soldier'. my heart sank. she then proceded to berate me with looks, tuts and quite loudly posed questions throughout the show, which she didn't 'understand' and resolutely refused to engage with. it turned out parker was sitting three seats along from us (we discovered this when he had to shimmy past us to get on stage for the bows).

europeans eh? you just never can tell.