We, The Infected

I hope the play goes back to London I have a job and thus the money to be able to travel there and catch it this time round. It's great to see a picture of you all BTW have there been others of any of you on the forum before at all? (you don't have to show me) Besides Abner I felt like I already knew what some of you looked like. (Looking now N.Rs' avatar is of him)
Were there any parts of the play from the book that weren't in the film? I think I saw on the forum somewhere that zombie Hakan makes an appearence.

BravoHotel wrote:I hope the play goes back to London I have a job and thus the money to be able to travel there and catch it this time round. It's great to see a picture of you all BTW have there been others of any of you on the forum before at all? (you don't have to show me) Besides Abner I felt like I already knew what some of you looked like. (Looking now N.Rs' avatar is of him)
Were there any parts of the play from the book that weren't in the film? I think I saw on the forum somewhere that zombie Hakan makes an appearence.

Zombie Hakan does not make an appearance in this play, maybe you're thinking about the Swedish one from a few years ago? Most of the stuff from the book that's not in the film in the play consisted of a couple of lines of dialogue. They do the Lover's Kiosk scene and mention that Eli's name is Elias. Hakan is more clearly a pedophile in the play than in the film, but his backstory isn't really explored.

Blood Knot

Boy meets vampire.

BY HILTON ALS - The New Yorker

There’s a lot that’s cheap about “Let the Right One In” (at St. Ann’s Warehouse), but it’s the cheap bits that generate much of the evening’s excitement. Based on the unputdownable 2004 book by the prolific Swedish short-story writer John Ajvide Lindqvist—it’s his first novel—the gothic tale centers on an adolescent loner named Oskar. The year is 1981, and Oskar lives with his mother in a utilitarian-looking flat in Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm. (Oskar’s father, largely unknown and unknowable, lives in another part of the city.) In the book, Lindqvist describes the town swiftly: “It was not a place that developed organically, of course. Here everything was carefully planned from the outset. And people moved into what had been built for them. Earth-colored concrete buildings scattered about in the green fields.” Lindqvist passes over Oskar’s family background—which is to say, his psychology—just as rapidly, as if afraid that too much explication would undermine his interest in depicting the uncanny, which interests Oskar as well.

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I read Als' review before I saw the play. As I read the review, I noted to myself that Als is all in with the film*, and that affects the direction of the review. Of course, that could apply to how most any of We the Infected would perceive the play. That said, I believe the review is very perceptive. Benson does indeed do the heavy lifting when it comes to the meat of the story. It isn't to say that she carries the play; rather, she provides the gravitas and the otherworldliness. All of the cast do a commendable job, but Benson (like Leandersson) is necessarily at the center of the play. Her performance is what viewers are most likely take away from the experience. One thing -- I believe the choreography of the symbolic dance scenes may have somehow crept into other parts of the play. Two scenes that should have been down and dirty, the deaths of Håkan of the policeman, were performed in a rather stylized fashion. On the other hand, I was on the first row, so maybe it looked more realistic with a little distance from the stage.

All in all, it was a memorable -- nay, extraordinary -- experience. I hope it continues find venues that will allow other Infecteds to see it.

*I wrote that Als is "all in" with the film because of this part of the review: "The Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, in his perfect 2008 film adaptation of the book—a master class on how to render atmosphere in cinema—turns up the dial on natural sounds (Eli feeding on blood, footsteps crunching in the snow, icicles dripping, a body slipping into a pool of water), as a way of showing us how to hear menace. Alfredson also shows us how love can break through ruthless self-interest, as the world-weary vampire finds herself more and more drawn to Oskar’s natural optimism and concern."

Not sure where to post this. Wouldn't it be great to be in New York for both of these NTS events? Especially:

"And, in celebration of Tartan Week, National Theatre of Scotland America Board Member Alan Cumming will be in conversation with Anthony Bourdain discussing the beauty, culture and global contribution of his homeland in an event hosted by The Balvenie Single Malt Whisky."

It's so good that NTS is maintaining a strong presence in the U.S.

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=ea4 ... 0e6dec9b33