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I watched this when it came on line last night.
Excellent.
Strongly recommend it.
It is available on Youtube for the next week.
Trigger warning: child loss.
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Just read about it, as I had not heard of it. I really liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by the same writer, and since this is also a short play I will probably check it out.
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It is just a half an hour short...but well worth the watch.
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And thanks for the reminder! I'm off to watch it now before clapping for carers!
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Wow, that was powerful. I think it's going to stay with me.
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I know. Its amazing.
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I had to watch it again, and I can't get it out of my head. Andrew really is one of our greats, the way he pulls you into feeling it alongside the character. Heartbreaking.
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I know...
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I finally had a chance to watch this today. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of it for the first few minutes, wasn't sure what the point was going to be, though I kind of liked the writing. The climax kind of snuck up on me. I ended up enjoying.
I knew it was a one-character play, so I was expecting it to be just one long take. But one thing that really struck me was how small Andrew seemed in the frame. I don't know if that was on purpose or not (or maybe he's shorter than I realise!), but I thought it connected nicely to the situation that the character finds himself in, not always in control of the situation. I also thought it was an interesting choice to have Alex introduce the most cruel thing he's ever said to someone and almost say what it was, but then not actually say it.
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Yep, beautifully played.
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That took me by surprise, but was really good. It seemed that he felt so bad about it that he couldn't physically say out loud again. Because he didn't say it, you're left imagining the kind of thing that he might have said, and I think probably something that was forgiveable given the circumstances, but something that couldn't be forgotten once said (for either of them).
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Yep and was rather painful for me, I have to say...
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Yes, I thought similarly, that he couldn't bring himself to say it again. You can sort of imagine what he said, that he blamed the father-in-law for not paying enough attention to what the daughter was doing and not watching out for her. We don't know if the father-in-law forgave him, but we know that Alex doesn't forgive himself for saying it.
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No, I don't think he does at all. I think the father-in-law would forgive him, though. It seemed to me that the father-in-law blamed himself, and that whatever Alex said would have just reinforced his own self-blame. The father-in-law was closer to her and if he'd done something differently, maybe reacted more quickly, he might have saved her. It's that awful feeling of when something bad happens and you keep playing over in your mind what little thing you could have done that could have avoided it.
It almost feels like Alex concentrates more on the effect on his father-in-law and his wife than on himself- again, maybe because it's easier to talk about than his own, but his own is still so terrible and palpable. I can't get it out of my head.
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It certainly speaks to people who have lost a family member, in tragic circumstances.
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I have been thinking of you, BB. I hope you were OK watching it: you know more than most about losing people tragically.
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Always challenged by these things...but you know, you just have to get on with it.