Word: cenci
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Such a play is Percy Bysshe Shelley's 1886 drama, The Cenci, a work which proves the point that romantic poetry looks a lot better on the page than on the stage...
...Cenci...
...Cenci is Shelley's dramatization of the 16th century legend of Count Cenci, an evil old man who, as Percy Bysshe Shelley (Matt Schuerman) tells the audience at the opening of Nick Moschovakis' production, "having spent his life in debauchery and wickedness, conceived at length an implacable hatred towards his children...
...play merely as an exercise in ridiculousness, need not worry. Artaud wrote occasionally about the similarity between all strong emotional reactions, and he would certainly understand the thin line between dark laughter and somber rapture. The Mather House production spans the line with ease. At the very least, The Cenci is not pompous or boring, and as we approach Reading Period, what other company of speakers can talk to you for an hour and make that claim...
Similarly, when two bungling assassins bounce across the stage, or Cenci's partygoers do a ritual dance to the strains of avant-garde rock, the audience is happy to perceive the action on two levels. Those who understand exactly what Artaud meant by his elliptical dialogue appreciate the refined symbolism, while the rest of us can chuckle in relief along with the tongue-in-cheek directors...