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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 17, 2005 21:22:08 GMT -5
Here's a story: I work in a library and part of my job is to search for lost books. So today I'm looking around, and on the reshelve cart I see: PLAYBOYS OF THE WESTERN WORLD. And I say, doesn't that title sound familiar? So I pick up the book, and who is on the cover? It's Cillian! So I check the book out, and it is, as the subtitle would suggest, a collection of essays on productions of Playboy of the Western World from 1907 to 2004. I thought you all might find some of what it is says interesting, so I'm going to type up bits of it. Er ... unless anyone has objections. In "A Roundtable Discussion," Paige Reynolds writes: "I also found that the casting of Cillian Murphy, a young actor coming into his own, adds an interesting perspective to Christy's development in the play. You can see both the actor and the character move together from a naive sense of 'O my gosh, I've got a great part to play and a real audience!' to a sense of command and confidence. It makes you wonder if Murphy, with his Hollywood offers, will depart, like Christy, for the 'western world.'" From this same chapter, Ophelia Byrne writes: "It would be a shame, however, if we wrapped up without a word about Cillian Murphy, too, because he turns in such a complex, fine and physical performance. It is quite something to see such classic Irish drama done in such a physical way. ... And an actor like Cillian, who relishes the physical challenges, can obviously swing with that. The change from the first scene, where he's so small and frightened, to the last where he is just huge and expansive in gesture, is magnificent--he's not just saying it, he is it." About 6 more sections to type up; I'll get to them a bit later.  |
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Post by hel on Oct 17, 2005 21:28:40 GMT -5
wow! thats so cool! could you show us a photo of the book?
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 17, 2005 21:45:14 GMT -5
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Post by blue-eyed struck on Oct 17, 2005 21:50:52 GMT -5
Ooo! Merci Beacoup Leslie! *exalt*
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 17, 2005 22:05:00 GMT -5
OMG I got me some karma!!!!!
Just for that, I'm going to put some more up!
From the chapter "Terrible Truths, of our own making" by Ophelia Byrne: "The irony of sitting in an audience watching the lurid desperation of Christy's onstage audience to transcend mundanity by finding someone to carry their dreams, is unnerving; the luminous presence of Cillian Murphy alone asks discomfiting questions of us and underscores unappealing parallels."
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Post by blue-eyed struck on Oct 17, 2005 22:10:20 GMT -5
Thank you for mine! ^_^
What I wouldn't give to see him in a play! We already know he has presence on screen. I can't imagine what he's like in a live play! Wow. Just wow!
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 17, 2005 22:25:01 GMT -5
Thank you for mine! ^_^ What I wouldn't give to see him in a play! We already know he has presence on screen. I can't imagine what he's like in a live play! Wow. Just wow! You're welcome! And this book is definitely making him sound like a wonderful stage actor. *sigh* |
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Post by hel on Oct 18, 2005 2:56:09 GMT -5
yay
this book sounds really good
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 18, 2005 7:25:40 GMT -5
*types frantically*
In the chapter "Postmodern Paddywhackery" by Adrian Frazer, "In the middle of all this, Cillian Murphy and Anne-Marie Duff strive to play out a romantic love story. Photogenic and subtle on the big screen, Murphy is also a resourceful, high-energy actor on stage. His playing style here is bravura. He accomplishes a variety of picturesque moments along the self-fashioning pilgrimage of Christy: the sheepish little boy, the lad tickled to death that two fine women are fighting over him, the self-infatuated flirt with the flock of village girls, the ¢*¢k-of-the-walk in Shawn Keogh's new swallow-tail suit and tophat, the winning jockey in a golden jersey, and the oppressed son on all fours sobbing in memory of how awful it is for a boy to have a strong father. What lies beneath that might connect all these points was unclear to me."
(This quote opposite a photo of Cillian with his shirt off, holding hands with Anne-Marie Duff.)
From "Redesigning the Playboy" by Nicholas Grene: "Cillian Murphy is charming from start to finish, a charming chimp when he first enters, shoulders hunched up, arms swinging, timid face to one side peeping out from under the black hair. He manages the lines with real skill; it is a lovely voice with the break into a husky underside making it all the more winning."
(I love his voice. LOL.)
PS I have karma!!!!! ;D
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Post by blue-eyed struck on Oct 18, 2005 14:19:13 GMT -5
psht! No Kidding!!
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 18, 2005 18:52:31 GMT -5
From "Poetry, Romance, Clay, Worms" by John P. Harrington: "Duff and Murphy are certainly outweighed by anyone elses on the stage, and, like many fim actors, they appear to be small and perfectly formed. This gives them the phyiscal capacity to swell as their confidence grows ..." One of my favorite quotes: from "Gallous Stories and Dirty Deeds" by Mary C. King: "Cillian Murphy's Christy has been criticized in one or two nit-seeking reviews for his fine head of shiny, shampooed hair, but I did not find this disruptive of the integrity and discipline of Hynes's over-all direction. His locks are well-hidden initially under his cap and their showing forth is of a piece with his discovery of his fine self in the mirror. Hair plays an interesting part in the imagery and action of The Well of the Saints and it scarcely damages the Playboy to show a bit of his crowning glory in this production! Murphy's handling of the mirror episode is totally credible in its choreography and control, as is the pacing of his response to the wonderfully suggestive offering of gifts from the village girls. His self-scrutiny as new and admiring others have begun to see him is a part of his multipart journey towards establishing a first person singular identity objectively ... "Murphy's initial defensive, sly terror at any movement towards him and his sudden collapses from confident boasting to cowering despair make him a disturbed and disturbing cousin to Patrick Galvin's raggy boy, and provides food for thought for a modern Irish audience." ("his fine self"--yeah!)  |
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Post by blue-eyed struck on Oct 18, 2005 18:57:51 GMT -5
HAHA! These are great! Thanks again!
What moron gives a bad review because his hair was too shiny!!? LOL!
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 18, 2005 21:59:43 GMT -5
I think there's one more. I'll type it up tomorrow. |
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Post by hel on Oct 18, 2005 23:27:49 GMT -5
yay  |
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Post by scotsrockgod on Oct 19, 2005 21:19:56 GMT -5
Sorry it took so long.
from "Separate Spheres and Celebrity Casting": "The other celebrity casting coup of the production--Cillian Murphy performing Christy Mahon--seemed to me more successful. His physical delicacy seemed ideal for the part: he did in fact appear a young man with small feet and 'a noble brow.' Christy is necessarily androgynous, and Murphy splendidly embodied that quality. He didn't command the stage, but surprisingly, in this production that retraction seemed appropriate. Christy is both unsure of himself in his new context before his new audience. Both Murphy and his Christy stand on the cusp of fame; they find themselves awash in a preciptious rush of public enthuiasm, insecure about how their audiences will ultimately regard them. ...
"The erotic appeal of Cillian Murphy eludes me, but many young theatre-goers respond to it perfectly. Stateside, the young women in my freshman course, who struggled through Synge's poetry when we studied Playboy early in the school year, swooned with delight when I told them who would act as the playboy for this production. If that marquee casting gets new playgoers to the theatre--audience members who will ideally be enchanted not simply by the sight of Murphy's naked torso, but also by the magic of a gorgeous play realized on stage, then I will happily endure titters among the audience, and less sure performances."
And there you have it. Very interesting book.
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