The Revisionist Review by Jesse Eisenberg
Hey guys,
On Tuesday night I went with a family friend to watch the play The Revisionist by Jesse Eisenberg (from Social Network) at The Wallis in Beverly Hills. After previously reading the synopsis I went into the theatre with the knowledge that the play would be focusing on the Holocaust and the destruction it had caused, however, when I actually sat down to watch the show I realised that it was completely different to what I had originally anticipated.
I love watching different types of theatre and being an actress I feel that this is a very important part of research. For the nature of this blog post I will start by reviewing the set design and the writing before moving onto reviewing the acting qualities (which is my favourite part).
For the set I was extremely impressed with how it was set out. The stage was set up in the middle of the of the room with the audience seated on either side. The stage was set up as a house, featuring a living room, kitchen, bedroom and a bathroom. I loved the fact that all the props were real and working, for example, all the electronics were in working order, the taps produced water, the microwave and fridge made sound and it made the production feel very real. Many people miss out the the importance that costume and props play in the theatre, but they really can make a difference to authenticity and truth.
As for the plot line I was a little disappointed with this. I kept waiting for something big to happen to push the show along but it never did. I realised by the end of the play that the show was character driven rather than plot driven. The story follows the relationship between a young New York Jew called David, who goes to Poland to stay with his second cousin Maria who had lived during the Holocaust to finish revising his book in a new setting. I originally went to the show as I was really interesting to have more of a knowledge about the war, however there was not actually that much about it. I was a little disappointed in the lack of climax to the show and I felt it ended quite flat.
Although I was a little disappointed in the writing, I was extremely impressed with the acting ability. As an actress myself I find it difficult to go to see a play and not critique the acting. This is the one area that I have nothing negative to say and I really enjoyed watching the relationships unravel between all the characters. The show featured a very small cast of just three actors Seamus Mulcahy playing the part of David, Ilia Volok playing the part of Zenon and Deanna Dunagan playing the lead role Maria. When the actors first entering the stage I noticed a little bit of indicating, however, as they became more comfortable with the audience they began to connect with each other and the relationships became real and truthfully. The most important thing I have learnt since studying at American Academy of Dramatic Arts is learning to listen onstage. Acting is not solely about reciting lines, its about being in the moment and being truthful, which makes listening so vital to this. When Maria was telling David her story about the war, he wasn't just staring at the ceiling waiting for her finish so that he could recite his line, he seemed genuinely interested, which made everything 100 times more interesting to watch and believable.
One thing in particular that really inspired me was how the conversations that Maria had on the phone in Polish and when she spoke to Zenon in Polish felt so real. Although I could not understand what they were saying I could figure out exactly what was going on by the way they were saying them and their body language. This is a really difficult to do and made me think back to different exercises that we had done around this in school and it finally allowed me to understand why this was important. I was so engrossed in what was happening.
Overall I would give the show 3 stars, this mainly down to the fact I felt the storyline was flat, however, if I was rating the acting alone I would give it a big 4.5 stars.
Check out my other blogs for more, I post weekly!!
On Tuesday night I went with a family friend to watch the play The Revisionist by Jesse Eisenberg (from Social Network) at The Wallis in Beverly Hills. After previously reading the synopsis I went into the theatre with the knowledge that the play would be focusing on the Holocaust and the destruction it had caused, however, when I actually sat down to watch the show I realised that it was completely different to what I had originally anticipated.
I love watching different types of theatre and being an actress I feel that this is a very important part of research. For the nature of this blog post I will start by reviewing the set design and the writing before moving onto reviewing the acting qualities (which is my favourite part).
For the set I was extremely impressed with how it was set out. The stage was set up in the middle of the of the room with the audience seated on either side. The stage was set up as a house, featuring a living room, kitchen, bedroom and a bathroom. I loved the fact that all the props were real and working, for example, all the electronics were in working order, the taps produced water, the microwave and fridge made sound and it made the production feel very real. Many people miss out the the importance that costume and props play in the theatre, but they really can make a difference to authenticity and truth.
As for the plot line I was a little disappointed with this. I kept waiting for something big to happen to push the show along but it never did. I realised by the end of the play that the show was character driven rather than plot driven. The story follows the relationship between a young New York Jew called David, who goes to Poland to stay with his second cousin Maria who had lived during the Holocaust to finish revising his book in a new setting. I originally went to the show as I was really interesting to have more of a knowledge about the war, however there was not actually that much about it. I was a little disappointed in the lack of climax to the show and I felt it ended quite flat.
Although I was a little disappointed in the writing, I was extremely impressed with the acting ability. As an actress myself I find it difficult to go to see a play and not critique the acting. This is the one area that I have nothing negative to say and I really enjoyed watching the relationships unravel between all the characters. The show featured a very small cast of just three actors Seamus Mulcahy playing the part of David, Ilia Volok playing the part of Zenon and Deanna Dunagan playing the lead role Maria. When the actors first entering the stage I noticed a little bit of indicating, however, as they became more comfortable with the audience they began to connect with each other and the relationships became real and truthfully. The most important thing I have learnt since studying at American Academy of Dramatic Arts is learning to listen onstage. Acting is not solely about reciting lines, its about being in the moment and being truthful, which makes listening so vital to this. When Maria was telling David her story about the war, he wasn't just staring at the ceiling waiting for her finish so that he could recite his line, he seemed genuinely interested, which made everything 100 times more interesting to watch and believable.
One thing in particular that really inspired me was how the conversations that Maria had on the phone in Polish and when she spoke to Zenon in Polish felt so real. Although I could not understand what they were saying I could figure out exactly what was going on by the way they were saying them and their body language. This is a really difficult to do and made me think back to different exercises that we had done around this in school and it finally allowed me to understand why this was important. I was so engrossed in what was happening.
Overall I would give the show 3 stars, this mainly down to the fact I felt the storyline was flat, however, if I was rating the acting alone I would give it a big 4.5 stars.
Check out my other blogs for more, I post weekly!!
(Source: http://bhcourier.com/jesse-eisenbergs-the-revisionist-makes-west-coast-debut-at-the-wallis/)
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