#embarrassingly earnest

[slowlystupendousdelusion]

So apparently at some point I vomited an essay about my Macbeth feelings and left it lingering in my drafts for months?

So I guess here are my 3am Donmar Macbeth thoughts from a few months back now that I'm going to see it again (!)

(Err spoilers)

Not to be back on my Macbeth bullshit again

And as I said before I know nothing about acting to have a nuanced take on performances but I want to talk about the set. (I also have no credentials to talk about this, but I do have a lot of feelings about it?)

I just love so many of the choices made to the extent that I'm still thinking about it a lot. Macbeth was the first Shakespeare we did at school and a large part of what appealed to me aged 10 would be the supernatural aspects, mediaeval castles and battles, and so going in this production would have been almost the opposite of what I would have thought I'd want from a Macbeth set. Or at least what 10 year old me would want. (Also i will acknowledge that it would be hard to go full throttle historical epic in such an intimate theatre anyway)

But being pared back worked so well. The costumes! Nod to the Scottishness with the kilts but still modern. The monochromes pop against the white stage, so it is the movement of the actors that you focus on. Lady Macbeth's all white costume tying in with appearance Vs reality themes (Innocent flower / serpent under't) by subverting your expectations also maybe hinting at the general less Evil slant this production has for her. I read the interview with the set designer that said her difference in clothing was supposed to reflect her being an outsider as well - Lady Macbeth being the only non-Scottish cast member in this production and the thought process being that perhaps it was this that lead her to be less wed to the idea of the social hierarchy as it was. I'm not sure I picked that up when watching, but it was really interesting to hear about this thought process.

I also loved how the music in this production was traditional, tying the play back to Scotland, which could be harder to create a sense of in such a pared back set design.

The stage itself is so simple but the white works so well esp when viewed from higher up in the theatre. It means that the silhouettes of the actors are striking, particularly with the monochrome costumes, and the kilts creating a shape. The few props that are used also end up silhouetted across the stage which is just chef's kiss. (And to think you don't even see this from the expensive seats!)

Also a good proportion of the performance the actors are in the space around the stage block rather than on it - it's used in a very versatile way - you have the porter doing his stand up routine walking around it, you have it used as a table with the characters seated around it at a feast, you have it used as a balance beam for Fleance as he walks along a wall.

Soundproof panel at the back. The way the actors can be lit up or hidden and ugh. Again this is harder to see from the side seats but gives a haunting vibe when viewed head on. This is such a clever way of getting the feeling of unease into the stage production when the supernatural aspects aren't physical.

The lighting. It feels weird to gush about the lighting. But I will continue to gush about the lighting. Just switching from warm to cool with the supernatural/psychological component works so well. It just plays such a big part in the story telling and like you're not even that conscious that it's happening? And the red light for the witches final bit where we get buffeted around Macbeth's mind with him. Gah. Such a big part of the production and yet so understated

Lady Macbeth and her candle - with so few props it makes it so much more striking when they are used! Weird thing to say: but also how great are candles as things? The way the candle light reflects off Lady Macbeth is just ugh and I know this is just how candles work but I don't think we appreciate this enough. I guess a candle stick is a different vibe from like a Yankee candle in my living room but you know.

The beautiful light pouring through Dunsinane Wood at the end onto the stage.

The blood pack and the way it flows out onto the white stage and obviously it's different each night and isn't that beautiful that each closing scene is unique because of fluid dynamics

(My only thing with this is lying supine where the blood only ends up on Macbeth's back looks really inorganic somehow even though it's obv not. But like let the man get covered in blood on his front as well. Imagine the aesthetic)

Honestly I am so curious to see how they will adapt this for a bigger theatre. The Donmar is set up pretty uniquely (it's fairly vertical in terms of seating if thats the right word? Which is quite different from all the other theatres that I can think of in London) and some of the things that worked really well for me was aided by having that height. The stage itself was used variously as a table, a stepping stone etc in this production, so the compactness of that central block is sort of necessary for example in the feast scene. If the theatre has a more trad seating plan, viewing mainly from the front with a shallower vertical height, a lot of the intimacy will be lost. I'm excited to see what solutions they will put in place to try and keep the vibes in a different setting.

[sualne]

orange and blue guys

[werewolf-transgenderism]

90% of the time I'm like ambivalent about the concept of romance and then I watch or read something that hits too hard at the little domestic intimacies and feel like my entire ribcage is collapsing from loneliness, you know how it is

[canisalbus]

Hello! I just wanted to rave about how much I like your artwork! I love how expressive your characters are--not just in their facial expressions, but their body language as well! You do such a good job at making your characters endearing just by their expressions. You have serious talent by doing that. It also feels like you put a lot of earnestness in your pieces. Thank you for sharing your artwork with the world! It's very inspiring, as a fellow artist.

Thank you so much! Expressiveness and lifelike body language are high on my list of priorities when it comes to character art, it's wonderful to hear the effort I put into them is visible.

[moregraceful]

Ekphrastic pantoum on Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler for @timebegins-onopeningday. ID under the cut.

Image: a picture and a poem side by side on a cream background.

left: a picture of Lawrence Butler and Zack Gelof of the Oakland Athletics taken by Michael Zagaris. They are in the A's clubhouse. Butler is seated while Gelof leans over to show him something on his phone. Lawrence is smiling. Both men are only partially dressed, but Butler is wearing a black A's team shirt while Gelof is shirtless.

right: a poem in light brown front on a dark green background. poem text:

Zack & Law Poem There’s a game soon, but this can’t wait. “I need to show you something – listen to me, look!” Their shared joys, a few years into a life. How could he hold back? Why would he? Not now. I need to show you something. Listen to me. Look. They shoulder a future too difficult to name. How could he hold back, why would he, not now– they have to hold on until it ends. They shoulder a future too difficult to name; that won’t stop him from sharing everything. They have to hold on. Until it ends: “Come on, look. Be here with me. It’s good, right?” That won’t stop him from sharing everything. Their shared joys. A few years into a life. Come on. Look. Be here with me. It’s good. Right? There’s a game soon, but this can’t wait.

[buttonhouseparty]

Captain comedy connections

I’ve always said that the way I feel about the Captain, and the reason he was my instant favourite, is this: it’s like walking into a party and seeing someone you know. The ‘blustering but ineffectual authority figure’ is a really recognisable comedy staple. Just him being there positions Ghosts in a long line of classic British sitcoms. And then they flipped that archetype by giving him a relatable inner conflict and all his funny little idiosyncrasies, all those hints at the real person buried beneath the persona ♡ Anyway, none of these characters are identical to Captain, but I think he certainly shares some of their DNA and I just felt like gathering them together

[cahootings]

Not to tap my s1 brain again but im never not thinking about how much of a mental shift it was to watch, particularly the moonlight scene, particularly showing them BOTH TURN AROUND TO LOOK BACK. Up to that point it was feeling like okay, this could be played for laughs I guess. But when they both turned around. It was not for laughs. I’ll never forget having to grab my couch cushion and my eyes popping out of my head. Holy shit. They did that. I’m still flabbergasted and look at what we have today lmao

[icarusgf]

that was my part of the deal, 8/18/23

[holliwoobz]

i think my problem with aligning myself with the democratic party is the absolute absence of people who are real human beings

like, yeah, that saying about politicians and selling your soul and being greasy etc. but surely we’ve lost the plot somewhere?? surely there were/are politicians in it for the good of others??

[amystheme]

rtd 2.0 feels much more pessimistic and hollowed out somehow… and some part of it is the zombification of all tv but it’s also something you can see on his entire body of work. some naïveté that felt so characteristic of his writing lands a little differently now

[timemachineyeah]

For some reason I misread that last poll as “what is the Billy Joel song?” as in if someone said to you, “y’know? the Billy Joel song?” what song would you assume they are talking about, so I answered Piano Man, but now I see it’s asking what’s the best Billy Joel song so I have to change my answer to For The Longest Time which is cheesy as hell as all Billy Joel is but also unfortunately is also part of my personal pantheon of Favorite Love Songs because it fits within the category of Silly Love Songs and I maybe adore those

[darlingian]

chani, you sweet human, how about 6, 12, and 24 for the fandom asks? 🍎💚

hey Nosho! 6. something you see in art a lot and love: Ian's big paws wrapped around the back of Mickey's head. It's very good.

12. compliment someone else in your fandom: @creepkinginc I adore your whole magical vibe. The drabbles you make are so lovely. That's not even going into how encouraging and kind you are to everyone! You're a pleasure to know, Nosho! <3

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life: how hasn't it? Fandom is always around to come back to like a warm hug. Gallavich fandom specifically is so welcoming and sweet. The friends I've made here and the kindness I've been shown has quite literally helped me keep going. I know it sounds dramatic and slightly silly but loving the character Ian Gallagher has been life saving.

[spinach-binach]

It's silly but I will be quite emotional when Tears of the Kingdom is finally here. Breath of the Wild was the first Zelda game I ever played (and the first game I got really into since having a Mega Drive as a kid, I'm not much of a gamer) and it came to me at a time when I was really struggling with chronic illness and pain and depression and anxiety. It genuinely helped me cope. Whenever I play, it's like everything else melts away. It absorbs me like no other game ever has. And I basically wrote my masters dissertation to the soundtrack.

I still struggle with chronic illness and pain and depression and anxiety but I know that on bad days these games will comfort me and on good days I can just straightforwardly enjoy them. I'm so excited and there's a spot for TotK right beside BotW in my heart.

[faeheart]

god i'm just thinking about how lucky i am to have found my gf. i could've spent my whole life searching for someone like her, could've settled for less, but i didn't! i found her! i'm so lucky

[earthdoves]

almost two weeks later but thanks for the tag @gratisdiamanten

Wallpaper/last photo/last song

aftersun collage i made / real last photo is a sc of [redacted] exam requirements 😭 / sc of last song listened to 'freefall - rainbow kitten surprise'

[cahootings]

Really any issue I had with pacing especially going into the finale is gone now that I’ve been able to watch the whole season together. The finale hit soooo much harder this time. I still have very bittersweet feelings about it, and I know I will until there’s some kind of renewal announcement, because it feels like an ending. And I don’t want it to be. But if it is, it’s a beautiful one.