Saturday, November 05, 2011

"Or,"

Saw "Or," at Caffeine Theatre, which features Aphra Behn as its heroine. She was one of the first women to make her living by her pen. When I was in college, in the dawn of time, she was a footnote in English Restoration literature, but now she is a big deal in the academic world. I admit I haven't gotten around to reading her.

The play got rave reviews here, and is well acted and cleverly produced, and even includes stretches of rhyme and iambic pentameter. But I wasn't quite crazy about it. I guess the plot resolution didn't do it for me, above all.

And somehow the celebration of sexuality felt... too unmotivated, which is a strange thing to say about a primal drive, I suppose. But it felt programmatic to me.

Here's a negative review, by John Simon, of the 2009 New York production.

I suppose now I will break down and try to read something the lady wrote. I can sometimes become quite enthusiastic about writers who are usually regarded as footnotes.

Will I like her, or,
will I find her a bore?

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