DVD Review: Weirdly Lame: The FireSign Theatre.

The Firesign Theatre are apparently an American institution. After a little internet research and celebrity testimony, I thought this television recording of a live show might be an example of comedy play-building.

But I haven't grown up with "The Firesign Theatre". I don't have an entrenched emotional relationship with Firesign and now wonder whether a previous connection to the group was an important prerequisite to enjoying this DVD. I'd only read a few articles and reviews on Firesign, I thought what the heck, give Firesign a go. After all, I'm curious about comedy, improvisation and theatre, and as a H.S. Drama teacher, I'm always on the look out for good DVD performance resources.

However, I must apologise to any dedicated "Firesign" fans (like Robin Williams) whom I may offend but I found "Weirdly Cool" surprisingly cumbersome and damp. There were a couple of sound moments that really worked well but on the whole, I was extremely disappointed by their worn routines and lame jokes. The stagecraft was only adequate setting some poor standard for students to aspire to. I actually found that watching "weirdly cool" became increasingly more torturous the further it went on.

Now,this DVD does provoke some thought on the nature of comedy and how much humour can be lost through cultural and/or generational gaps. How different are the British / American / Australian / German / etc senses of humour? I really doubt that I could even show one or two sections from this DVD performance to my students as an example of play-building or comic acting.

I guess "Weirdly Cool" is intended as a remembrance and must have some sentimental value to those fans who was there. In their original recording may have captured some of the flair and sharp wit that they have become famour for. However, as far as I'm concerned... Is anybody interested in a cheap almost new copy of "Weirdly Cool" for sale?

(This entry is based on my original amazon review)

DVD Review: Primo is an amazing performance!

Through "Primo", Anthony Sher has demonstrated how brilliant and powerful theatre can be, whilst tastefully showing all the respect that Primo Levi and his Auschwitz story deserve.

For those of us who don't live in London or New York, we must thank theatre practitioners like the great Sir Anthony Sher for producing these resources for an enthusiastic audience. I attempted to showed a section of the DVD to my senior drama students as an example of a monologue performance and they wouldn't let me turn it off!

I could easily write an essay on how great this performance is but in an attempt to offer a brief review, I will simply say that if you love theatre and great acting, this DVD is a must!

(Note: This is a copy of my review from Amazon)

DVD Review: What Fantastic Coffee!

I originally purchased "Wake Up and Smell The Coffee" with two purposes in mind. I had seen H.S. Drama students performing excerpts from the DVD as monologues and I was curious to see more. As such, I was attempting to 1.) satify my own personal interest in theatre, and 2.) exploring the potential of the DVD as a teaching text for senior high school Drama students by studying how one actor performances (like Anthony Sher's Primo) can be entertaining, sustain an audience relationship and utilise a variety of performance techniques. Especially for those students that don't have regular access to live performance for whatever reason.

Personally, I found "Wake Up and Smell The Coffee" an excellent, entertaining and challenging show. It has been recorded maintaining a sense of the live performance atmosphere and the interview extra adds another interesting perspective to the whole performance making process. I particularly love how Bogosian manages to link each set piece into a collective thematic whole that not only entertains but also provokes us. He doesn't seem to hold back on any taboo subjects and attacks pertinent topics. The show seems so relevant to our contermporary world that there is a starting notice informing us that the performance was written and performed prior to September 11th 2001. I would happily recommend the DVD to anyone interested in performance, social commentary and/or comedy.

In regards to my second purpose as a teaching tool, I would feel less comfort offering this DVD to a room of senior students to watch as a whole but there are certainly plenty of sections within that would lend themselves to a student viewing and will help budding actors to appreciate how one actor can use elements of theatre to create a engaging performance. Finally, as a theatre lover, I would like to thank Mr. Bogosian for making this performance available.

(Note: This is a copy of my review from Amazon)