Customer Reviews

The Blue Room: A Play in Ten Intimate Acts

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David Hare's dry humor underlies most lines in this play and, as a result, it is a funny enough read. Prior to reading Hare's adaptation of La Ronde, I saw the Broadway version. The audience at the theater failed to laugh at the underlying humor as it was not emphasized. The text, however, brings out this facet of the play very well. Overall, however, there is nothing special about the the play itself. It is a cursory analysis of sexuality and sexual politics. But it's not the Kinsey report.

The play is structured like this - Character A hooks up with Character B in scene 1. In scene 2 Character B hooks up with Character C. In scene 3 Character C hooks up with... you get the idea.

Here's an example of what I mean by 'hook up':

Girl - Watch out, or we'll both be in the water ...
Cab Driver - Great ...
Girl - We'll both be in the water.
Music engulfs them. The lights go out. A projected slide reads: THREE MINUTES.
***
Light returns. The GIRL is lying on the ground. The CAB DRIVER is kneeling beside her, his hands on his knees.

The same thing, more or less, happens in each of the ten scenes. You get two scenes with each character. In the first a character will act one way and in the next they'll act a different way. For example, in one scene a politician is with his wife and he's serious and sincere, and then in the next he's with a coke snorting model and he's talking slick. That's about it. The Blue Room is random people talking just before and just after sex.

When I got this I thought it sounded cheeky and offbeat but actually reading it was a let down. Pretty much nothing happens. Yeah, you get to see people committing adultery, patronizing prostitutes, etc, but since you don't know anything about them, who cares what they do?... Actually, you learn a little about them: the actress was flippant, the cab driver was crass, the au pair naive, etc. There is some characterization, but it's pretty weak.

It moves along briskly and I give it points for being different, but overall it's dull and about as risque as the Saturday night movie on Cinemax.

David Hare's adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's "La Ronde" is nothing short of amazing. The twisting strand of relationships that course through the scenes is filled with mirror images of ourselves. Either in the lives we lead, what we invision in our mind, or in the world we see around us. There are so many difference's between the ten characters, but what makes it truly interesting is when you realize just what might be the same about them.

This play is a first rate pick!

I for one adored this play. Did not see the Broadyway play but from the reviews I heard it only cheapened this excellent work by David Hare. It goes into not the act of sex but the before and after scences displaying the casualness of sex in our society. Definately something worth thinking about. Recommend Skylark by David Hare as well.

I for one adored this play. Did not see the Broadway play but from what I heard it apparently cheapened this excellent work by David Hare. It goes into the before and after scenes from which the curtain closes. It is not about the sex but how society and individuals view sex and how commmon day our culture holds it. Any open minded individual interested in how individuals and societys behaviors correlate must read this play. It is short and easy reading for anyone to enjoy.

My university is putting on The Blue Room this Spring, and I wanted to purchase a copy of the script so tha I could more readily work on the production. Excellent seller, quick shipment. Recommend to all!