Loz
4th October 2003, 11:43
Saw a play, Edmond by David Mamet, at the National Theatre in That London. It starred Kenneth Branagh (usually known for his Shakespearian stuff) as the lead character, an American who leaves his wife and goes out on the street in search of his true self, happiness, and a girl to get laid with.
23 scenes in about an hour and ten minutes, it was a very powerful ride. Some parts were quite uncomfortable, especially the racist diatribes, and yet some of it very funny in parts.
Kenneth Branagh was brilliant, as I think he always is in things he does, although his American accent was hard to get used to at first, not because it was bad, but because I wasn't expecting that voice to come from him. His portrayal of the man who just seems intensely lost in his life, and gets further and further from what he wants to be as the night grows on, is gritty, powerful and totally believable.
The man, Edmond,although you may like him for the most part, you cannot feel sorry for, because everything he gets into, everything he does and becomes, is his own work. He is the chief catalyst for his downward spiral at the end of the night.
It is the last night of the play tonight, so if anyone wanted to see it, you're out of luck, but I do recommend checking it out if you ever see the screenplay or it ever tours.
Highlight of the night, Branagh as Edmond goes to see a prostitute, strips to his underwear, then takes his boxer shorts off, exposing himself in full glory. Then 6 people in the audience leave.
23 scenes in about an hour and ten minutes, it was a very powerful ride. Some parts were quite uncomfortable, especially the racist diatribes, and yet some of it very funny in parts.
Kenneth Branagh was brilliant, as I think he always is in things he does, although his American accent was hard to get used to at first, not because it was bad, but because I wasn't expecting that voice to come from him. His portrayal of the man who just seems intensely lost in his life, and gets further and further from what he wants to be as the night grows on, is gritty, powerful and totally believable.
The man, Edmond,although you may like him for the most part, you cannot feel sorry for, because everything he gets into, everything he does and becomes, is his own work. He is the chief catalyst for his downward spiral at the end of the night.
It is the last night of the play tonight, so if anyone wanted to see it, you're out of luck, but I do recommend checking it out if you ever see the screenplay or it ever tours.
Highlight of the night, Branagh as Edmond goes to see a prostitute, strips to his underwear, then takes his boxer shorts off, exposing himself in full glory. Then 6 people in the audience leave.