Hi Harry I realise it's not a 'film' thing, but so many film people are involved I thought I would send it in, in case anyone's interested.
Something awful has happened. Charlie Kaufman, one of the brightest voices in screenwriting, has taken his own life. He found the strain of self-reference and deconstruction too much. More of that later.
This evening I went to see the 'Theater of the New Ear' show at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The first half, 'Sawbones', was written and directed by the Coen Brothers and starred Steve Buscemi, John Goodman, Marcia Gay Harden, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The second half, 'Hope Leaves The Theater', written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, starred Dame Meryl Streep, Hope Davis and Peter 'The Dink' Dinklage.
Sawbones was the much shorter part, starting off erratically then slowly forming a full narrative. An unfaithful wife (the 'it puts the lotion on its skin' lady from Silence of the Lambs) has an affair whilst watching a TV show which is like a male Dr. Quinn. Then the husband finds out, and the rest is classic Coen Bros. It was intelligent and funny, and it's always fun to see balloons forming the sounds of an intestinal operation. It was all over very quickly, but worth it.
Now for Hope Leaves the Theater. I don't know how to start. So, the play starts with the house lights up, the three actors on stage, and Hope narrating the internal monologue of an audience member, sitting next to a handsome man and a critic who turns out to be her father who died 9 years ago.
Then the play proper starts, with The Dink and Meryl stood in a lift going up 2000 or so floors, and forming a relationship. And they also play themselves, their own internal monologues, the internal monologues of audience members, and themselves playing themselves. Playing themselves.
Meryl Streep throws a shit fit and ejects Hope's character from the theater, and we follow her thoughts on the way home. She's overweight, middle aged, hooked on internet chatrooms, bitter and misanthropic. Think Nic Cage in Adaptation. She also thinks she could have been the third Coen Brother. And very much enjoyed Philiip Seymour Hoffman in the previous play.
Whilst all this goes on, Meryl has an existential crisis on stage, turns on Hope and the Dink, and starts heckling the audience.
And all this is dedicated to Charlie Kaufman, who took his life after completing the play. Meryl is taking this very badly. Worse than the Dink, because Adaptation was better than Human Nature.
And then the critic character deconstructs the entire play whilst Meryl sings an Alanis-type ode to bitterness, as Hope's character, now years younger, steps out into the world.
Would a diagram help?
Three audience members talk about the three actors on stage
|
|
v
Play set in a lift---->Hope playing an audience member----->Meryl playing herself
|
|
v
Meryl loses her shit with the audience------>Hope leaves the theater------>Hope narrates a life
|
|
v
Critic hates Kaufman and all he stands for----->Kaufman commits suicide (takes place after play ends)
All clear? Good.
.This is all acted out perfectly; Hope breaks your heart by the end, the Dink is effortlessly cool and does a mean British accent, and Meryl brings the house down with her bitter diva act. The hour-long play was touching and so damn clever and proper funny. Not chortle funny, but proper funny.
It was all written with those actors in mind (with Hope talking about her own career in the third person, then debating how hard Sophie's Choice must have been for Meryl) so I can't imagine it being performed again.
Carter Burwell's music was all excellent, especially his theme tune to the Sawbones TV show. And the foley artist (apologies for forgetting his name) was great, stamping away in his tray of water.
I'm so fucking pleased that they all took the time to fly over just for one night. If Kaufman ever writes a full play, it could take over the world.
Not that he will, of course.
Because he's dead.
Jenkis
