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Forêts (Forests) a play by Wajdi Mouawad

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  • Fuuma
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2006
    • 4050

    Forêts (Forests) a play by Wajdi Mouawad

    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Yesterday I had the privilege to be at the North American premiere of an incredibly powerful play by Quebecois dramatist Wajdi Mouawad. I could tell you about the laudatory reviews the play was blessed to receive from French critics (L?Humanité, Le Monde, Le nouvel Observateur, etc.) but who really cares about that.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">While I?m not against the respect awarded to classic plays whose enduring themes still hold their evocative powers long after their authors have departed, I must admit I enjoy the theatrical arts as a living, breathing medium where connection between author, performers and audience is grounded in the here and now of a contemporary experience of human interactions.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Forêts is the kind of rich, multi-layered artistic work that talks to me in a way few things or people can; I?m not going into details here as this is one is better experienced raw but will touch into a few interesting points.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">One of the main thematic trusts that Mouawad throws upon the viewer in this far-reaching work is the nature of identity. The weight of a past almost entirely shrouded in darkness rests on all of us, endlessly transmitted as values and attitudes by our forebears that didn?t have the energy, courage and sometimes possibility to explain what lies in the past, letting it vaguely surface as mysterious life experiences and hidden pains. The main protagonist of this ensemble cast (11 comedians, playing multiple characters) has to carry a weight that got heavier with each generation, to find closure she has to uncover and then face History/her history.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Of great interest is the way time, events, space and even generations fold and collapse on themselves, reminded the viewer of a Mobius ring that defies the linearity that our logic demands. This is especially impressive to behold in a play, where the mise en scène is so masterfully handled that multiple events happening at different times can be simultaneously displayed on stage, thus heightening our awareness of the repetitive nature of tragedy and the constant that is human emotion.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">These two points only touch the surface of what is to be gained here; I have yet to fully digest the bravado performance of the actors and the strength of this wonderful text.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
    <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">The play is presented at L?Espace Go (on St-Laurent) until the 10<SUP>th</SUP> of February. I urge all Montrealers to go see it, and please don?t complain about the lack of accessibility of theatre, we?re talking about $28 for a 4 hours play.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
    Selling CCP, Harnden, Raf, Rick etc.
    http://www.stylezeitgeist.com/forums...me-other-stuff
  • Faust
    kitsch killer
    • Sep 2006
    • 37852

    #2
    Re: For&#234;ts (Forests) a play by Wajdi Mouawad

    [quote user="Fuuma"]<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Yesterday I had the privilege to be at the North American premiere of an incredibly powerful play by Quebecois dramatist Wajdi Mouawad. I could tell you about the laudatory reviews the play was blessed to receive from French critics (L?Humanité, Le Monde, Le nouvel Observateur, etc.) but who really cares about that.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></o:p></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">While I?m not against the respect awarded to classic plays whose enduring themes still hold their evocative powers long after their authors have departed, I must admit I enjoy the theatrical arts as a living, breathing medium where connection between author, performers and audience is grounded in the here and now of a contemporary experience of human interactions.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></o:p></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Forêts is the kind of rich, multi-layered artistic work that talks to me in a way few things or people can; I?m not going into details here as this is one is better experienced raw but will touch into a few interesting points.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></o:p></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">One of the main thematic trusts that Mouawad throws upon the viewer in this far-reaching work is the nature of identity. The weight of a past almost entirely shrouded in darkness rests on all of us, endlessly transmitted as values and attitudes by our forebears that didn?t have the energy, courage and sometimes possibility to explain what lies in the past, letting it vaguely surface as mysterious life experiences and hidden pains. The main protagonist of this ensemble cast (11 comedians, playing multiple characters) has to carry a weight that got heavier with each generation, to find closure she has to uncover and then face History/her history.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></o:p></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Of great interest is the way time, events, space and even generations fold and collapse on themselves, reminded the viewer of a Mobius ring that defies the linearity that our logic demands. This is especially impressive to behold in a play, where the mise en scène is so masterfully handled that multiple events happening at different times can be simultaneously displayed on stage, thus heightening our awareness of the repetitive nature of tragedy and the constant that is human emotion.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></o:p></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">These two points only touch the surface of what is to be gained here; I have yet to fully digest the bravado performance of the actors and the strength of this wonderful text.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"></font></o:p></span></p>
    <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">The play is presented at L?Espace Go (on St-Laurent) until the 10<sup>th</sup> of February. I urge all Montrealers to go see it, and please don?t complain about the lack of accessibility of theatre, we?re talking about $28 for a 4 hours play.<o:p></o:p></font></font></span></p>

    [/quote]</p>

    Is it a literal weight, like a block? That would be a cool visceral image.</p>
    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

    Comment

    • laika
      moderator
      • Sep 2006
      • 3787

      #3
      Re: For&#234;ts (Forests) a play by Wajdi Mouawad



      This sounds really interesting, Fuuma. I am intrigued by that same passage. At the risk of bringing everything back to clothing, Chalayan has worked with these themes--memories and how we carry them around--in a few of his collections. It's fascinating to hear how these things are expressed in different mediums.</p>

      Wish I could go!</p>
      ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

      Comment

      • Fuuma
        Senior Member
        • Sep 2006
        • 4050

        #4
        Re: For&#234;ts (Forests) a play by Wajdi Mouawad

        <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Faust: This isn?t literally the case but Mouawad does use some physical props or even comedians to manifest important concepts (I?d call this an allegory but I seem to remember there is, at least in French, a more precise word for that, can?t remember what it is though?), or even a minor event unfolding in the background of the main action to complement what is going on in the foreground. A fine example of this would be a scene where a character is removing her clothing in preparation of the ?shower? she?s about to take in Treblinka while some <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN>construction workers, living in contemporary Quebec, prepare to tear down a wall and literally blast the head of the shadow she projects on the wall with<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>larger hammers. This is pretty intense; especially when you know that she knows what awaits her and because of other assorted reasons that lend the scene an even greater resonance.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
        <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
        <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-CA style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA"><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Laika: Chalayan is indeed one of the fashion designers most concerned with the past in a conceptual sense instead of a literal/referential way (he talks about the past instead of showing you what was in the past). As much as I may have liked some DH pieces, a lot of the collections are just plain: ?I like this look from this musical era, let style it with a twist and sell it.? Identity and how it correlates with our relationship with our (possibly collective) past is one of my favourite themes, no matter which medium is used to explore it.<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
        Selling CCP, Harnden, Raf, Rick etc.
        http://www.stylezeitgeist.com/forums...me-other-stuff

        Comment

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