Rope

I have to say, i was very pleased I saw the almeida's production of 1920s thriller Rope (the one Hitchcock subsequently made into a film) with Sam because he definitely made me get a lot more out of it than i would have done had i not discussed it with him afterwards (short attention span and shallow dependence on the cheap thrill of unexpected twists to blame for the waves of frustration i felt when left to my own devices). I did enjoy it, but struggled with its linearity, initially not quite appreciating the artful use of suspense and value of the moral about-turn of one of the central characters hitherto committed to decadence, moral vacuity and fun. practically everything interesting i came to appreciate owes a great deal to him, while the trivial flashes of appreciation i attribute wholeheartedly to myself - such as the fact that i intend to update my exclamatory vocab with fabulous 1920s lingo: 'excruciating' (as in: what an excruciatingly funny table); 'abysmal' for terrible; 'weird' for things that really aren't; and 'lamb' (as in: he's such a lamb - a good one oft forgotten). I also think it would have positively influenced me had i known at the time of watching that it was based on a true story. somehow the almost grossly theatrical nature of the plot - an arrogant young student and chum kill a man, then invite his father and friends round to take supper around the chest where the body is concealed, all simply to satisfy their vanity (they believe they can get away with it) - would have been more shocking and dastardly had i known it was real(ish). Even so, it still managed to be both very funny, suspenseful and moralistic. i loved the skittish 20s wit, mocking the vapid and vague conversations of the characters and their meaningless life of privilege. i loved that lots of it pretty much took place in the dark (shadows certainly). i loved that the octagonal chest was mirrored in the floor of the stage, and the 8 characters, i loved the turns of phrase and the fatuous and pompous conversations. i loved that it was in the round - so you could scrutinise every move anyone made - and that despite his best intentions, the murderer never had anywhere to hide. Bertie Carvel's performance as pompous old queen Rupert was also completely amazing, and definitely worth going for. overall, i was pleased i went. must rent the film.