ichgehornurmir-blog - Tumblr blog

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Honestly considering printing some to stick on my wall. These are too stunning.

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We’re setting up to do this shot, we just wanna see Cate sort of tugging this child along. He’s forgetting how to walk. And she walked off down the sidewalk and they kind of edged over to the edge of frame and disappeared behind the tree and then right at this moment the little boy tugs on her hand and then she bends down to find out what it is that he wants and he puckers up his lips and gives her this kiss. And I’m watching this on the monitor and I’m going “Oh my god, that’s amazing!”

David Fincher, Director’s commentary The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

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Ooh McKinnon and Paulson. I like that tag.

I feel like I want to marry kate McKinnon

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Power To The Mighty Understudy

It’s been a while since I had a good rant on here, but after stewing on it all day, I need a little outlet. 

The theatre is that special place we go to forget about the world and lose ourselves entirely in a fictional world. We literally give ourselves over to the actors for anywhere from 90 minutes upwards, maybe for a song and a dance, maybe to laugh, be shocked, have a good old cry. Sometimes, actually, quite often for us regular goers, we also go along to see the “star” of the show. So what happens when the star is “indisposed”? Well, apparently all manner of hell breaks loose. 

I’m a bit (a lot) anal when it comes to theatre etiquette...for a start, I still dress up (and no I don’t mean in my apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur. I wore an evening gown to see Chicago once, but that’s another story), you cannot justify to me eating anything remotely rustley, you do not need to talk (SHUT UP in the Overture! It’s not written for a cheeky gossip!), you do not need to text, check the time, take a photo, record a sodding video or leave your phone switched on. But what I read about the audience at the London Coliseum last night in response to Glenn Close’s inability to perform due to ill health has left me seething, embarrassed and generally appalled to be a British theatre goer. You’re disappointed that the person you went to see isn’t on, I get it, but to sit there and boo, jeer, demand your money back, stomp like you’re at a pantomime or just plain walk out is absolutely disgusting behaviour. That was a bunch of adults - a large handful from a building that holds nearly 2,500 people. 

You’ve paid up to £150 to see Glenn Close (more fool you). You’ve come from far and wide. And then, what? She has the audacity to be human and be ill? Disappointing, I know. I was lucky enough to see her last week and crikey, did that lady blow my mind, and I hope she is back to blow more minds soon - I would have been beyond gutted too. But now imagine being Ria Jones, knowing 2,500 people paid to see the woman you’re standing in for. They want blood - actually, no, they want Glenn, but in her absence definitely blood. She had waited 25 years to play the role (after being too young to officially play it when she originated Norma in the workshops) and had to turn off her tannoy in her dressing room so she didn’t hear the audience reaction when the announcement was made. Who the hell has the right to make someone feel so awful? 

For a start, actors are human. It doesn’t matter whether they’re off the X-Factor, Eastenders, won an Olivier once or own a collection of Oscars, they are still human. That means they get sick, they get hurt, they have family issues (yes, I’m referring to a similarly outrageous response to Sheridan Smith’s father being diagnosed with cancer and the uproar that resorted in her threatening legal action and offering to personally refund fans when she couldn’t make a few shows). Just because social media allows us into every aspect of their lives now, it does not mean we own them; they do not owe us anything; they owe no apology for being a person, rather than the living God we think they are. 

Secondly, have you any idea A) how hard it is to understudy? B) How damn lucky you are to be seeing one? 

I’ve had the let down - I went to see Ruthie Henshall perform in a concert years ago, and she pulled out. My Dad and his ex went to see her in a one woman show - her show - and got the understudy. She got a standing ovation. When these people take on these parts they know when they step onto that stage they are the last person many of the audience wish to see. Yet the show must go on. 

The first time I ever really remember getting an understudy was about four years ago when I went to see Chicago. I did a Glenn and bought tickets purely to see Ruthie Henshall reprise her role as Roxie. We got lucky, she was on. The actress playing Velma however fell “indisposed” half way through and on came this redhead literally mid show. An ensemble girl. Her first scene was “I Can’t Do It Alone” - a five minute dance sequence and no one knew who the hell she was. But so amazing was her performance and so behind this “nobody” were we, willing her to do well, that she literally blew the roof off the theatre. Ruthie Henshall offered all the applause at the end to her, despite most of us being there for Ruthie. When the original Velma’s contract ended, she took over the role. 

Easy job though, right? Just covering one role? Wrong. Often, these amazing men and women are not only covering for a star and facing disappointed fans in their hundreds, but they are covering numerous roles. The understudy for Velma performed in the ensemble, covered Velma and covered Mama Morton. They don’t always get a heads up at the start of the day that they’re on either...it can just be “They’ve just fallen back stage and broken their ankle...on you go!” last minute, and “don’t forget which role you’re now in.”

Similarly, second cover Carole King in Beautiful is also in the ensemble and first cover Cynthia. Both Carole and Cynthia are Tony and Olivier Award winning roles, usually played by someone people want to see. And there those understudies are, waiting to try and make your night incredible. 

Some of the best performances I have ever seen have been by understudies, and get the audience in the right mood and the atmosphere changes because you’re all rooting for this unknown person,who can have their career made overnight if they nail it. We had an entire cast overhaul for Blood Brothers once - Mrs J and the Narrator were off. So, cue the actress playing Mrs Lyons in for Mrs J, the actress playing Linda in for Mrs Lyons, an ensemble girl in for Linda and a Swing on for the ensemble girl. The Narrator was covered by Mr Lyons, Mr Lyons was covered by an Ensemble, and on came another Swing. Arguably, the best version of Blood Brothers I’ve seen. Would it have been without this cast change of understudies? 

What I’m getting at is these people work their asses off - they have to be as good, if not better, than your star that you’ve paid to see because they cannot let you down further. You are seeing something potentially career changing. They know you don’t want them, but they don’t have a choice but to perform. They probably feel as bad as you. Just sit back and accept the show for what it is, accept that your star is sick or whatever else, accept this new man or woman for their own interpretation. 

Ria Jones received a five minute standing ovation last night from the crowd that was furious over not seeing Glenn Close. From all four tiers. From 2,500 people. Just...give them a chance. And if you can’t do that, wait until you’re home to be rude? 

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Masters Help!!

Hello kind reader, 

I’m coming towards the end of my Masters at last and have one essay before my dissertation to go. This assignment is looking at Heritage Interpretation, and just to give you a brief idea here I’m looking at the representation of the Holocaust, and my case study is the ‘Anne’ exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. If anyone has been to see it since it opened in 2013, or just has feelings on the matter (positive or negative) and wouldn’t mind me asking you a few questions (answers will be kept totally anonymous) then drop me a message and I will get in touch with you. Then I will detail exactly what I’m doing with the assignment, how I will use your answers, etc. 

Thanks in advance! 

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“Dearest, there are no accidents, and no explanation I offer will satisfy you. You seek resolutions because you’re young, but you will understand this one day.”

Carol (2015, Todd Haynes)

cinematography by Edward Lachman

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Cute

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara at the 88th Academy Awards

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I shouldn't laugh but this did make me LOL

Therese doesn’t give a shit about Richard, part 2

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W O W

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Ha. Need this. Forever waiting for someone to come and leave some leather gloves on my counter at work. Could be waiting a while..

This summer…

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Surely your English teacher should be thrilled!? this is what they're always trying to get us to do!!

One foot in the closet..

When you’re not out to your ex-boss because he’s from another country, another generation, another faith and he tells you he watched Carol over the weekend, just looks at you pointedly and waits and you take a deep breath…aaaaand subject change!

*face-palm*

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trixie: where were you?

patsy: delia's room. she was just teaching me a new card game.

me: girl your hair is a mess and u were straightening ur pajamas u cant lie to me dykey mcgee

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Bloody excellent! Stupid closed minded assholes.

I don't know what I expected when I bought your book, but it wasn't man hating feminist propaganda. Your treatment of men is awful. They're all evil or incompetent and the women all save the day. You bait heterosexual relationships constantly even on the back cover where you say Marian meets Robin Hood and 'love blooms'. But then there are only lesbians. Not to mention the implausible diversity. 0 stars out of 5. I'm giving it to a thrift store.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to review my novel!! It means so much to me to receive reviews even now, over half a year after self publishing. I know I’m not one of the big cool great authors that everybody knows but hopefully one day I will be and getting feedback makes me feel like I can make it~

That being said, what the fuck are you talking about?

What’s implausible diversity, a group of companions from multiple cultures? Where does feminist propaganda come into it- because the main characters happen to be women? But it isn’t at all anti-feminist propaganda when the protagonists are all men? And, of course, the most important question: what on Earth is “baiting heterosexual relationships”?

For anybody interested in a piece of apparently man-hating, hetero-baiting, implausibly diverse piece of fiction where “there are only lesbians”- Robins in the Night is available on Amazon worldwide, or apparently in your local thrift store if you happen to live nearby this chewed up piece of Lego.

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Paris, 1920s

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This ^^^

Probably the biggest turning point in the film for me. A paper in the UK said "Blanchett will slay you" and in my mind this is the scene where she really does it.

I know from family experience that the way she fought for her own sexuality - "I want it, and I will not deny it" - is absolutely spot on. Cate Blanchett gets it so right without ever having experienced that herself. That's why she's a remarkable actress.

Some people think she's a terrible mother who doesn't deserve Rindy if she could give her up like that. I don't think she just chooses Therese over her daughter - in her ideal world she would have them both, but society and decade do not allow. She has to surrender not just for her own sake, but for Rindy. How can she be the mother she wants and is expected to be if she's miserable, repressed, alone?

It's because of women like Carol, authors like Patricia Highsmith, that I can live my life knowing my sexuality is only a small part of it - for Carol, for so so long, it was all encompassing in so many ways. It's the bravest moment of either woman in this film and it kills me.

So, there’s one line in CAROL, well, scene really, that keeps coming back to my my mind, not just because of how important it is, but because it shows the signs of the times. It’s from Carol’s lawyer, Fred.

“My client’s psychotherapist is perfectly satisfied with her recovery from the events of the winter, asserting she’s more than capable of caring for her child. She’s had no further contact with the…..the girl in question. And we have sworn depositions from two Saddlebrook Institute psychiatrists clearly stating that, in their opinions, a series of events, precipitated by my client’s husband, drove her to suffer an emotional break which resulted in the presumed aberrant behavior….”

It’s one thing to have the covertly obtained audio recording one of the most poignant, important, intimate, and supposedly private moments of your life used as evidence by your husband’s lawyer to take away custody of your kid. That universally sucks in and of itself. But now imagine that you’re sitting there, listening to one lawyer state that because of said evidence they’re going to rule against you, and then when your own lawyer, the man who’s defending your case, comes back by giving an overview of your psychological profile. He talks about “recovery,” an “emotional break,” and “aberrant behavior.” I mean, he’s on your side, but his very words kind of….prove that he’s not. Yes, it’s the 1950′s. Yes, society wasn’t even sure lesbians existed back then. But imagine sitting there, knowing what you feel, and listening to all this. You may not have a word to describe it, but you know it’s real.

Now, let’s switch to Carol, and picture yourself sitting there. She’s hearing all this said about her, and is expected to stay quiet. Is expected to let her lawyer speak for her, and assert that she’s fully recovered so she can have shared custody of her daughter. But Carol just saw Therese walking down the street moments earlier. She longed for her, and remembered how much she still loves her. By speaking up in that room, she contested everything her lawyer just said, and what her psychiatrists wrote about her: she’s not “recovered,” and she didn’t have an “emotional break” because she wanted what happened with Therese. If what happened was viewed as aberrant behavior, she basically said she didn’t care. She gave up custody of her daughter for the sake of her own happiness.

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Oh so true

A 20th century movie changed my 21st century life