Here Today, Here TomorrowFilming the occasional production is a novelty but filming every production would be an act of historical significance.
joel fishbane
Centaur’s new season proves that although plays get a second life, productions are not so lucky. Of the four remounts, only one (Haunted Hillbilly) will reunite the original creative team - God of Carnage will not feature the original Broadway cast, nor will the new version of Pierre Marivaux’s 18th century farce be resurrecting the dead. In this we have a subtle reminder: only text is forever. Actors have known this for years: the thrill of live performance comes from the knowledge that each show is one of a kind. If there is certain poetry to this idea, that poem is bittersweet. How can we not mourn all the productions we have loved that have disappeared forever?
Fortunately, technology is making it possible for this to change. For years now, the Stratford Festival has been releasing films of specific productions, an endeavour which culminated in last year’s national screening of The Tempest. It was a charming event, but it begged a thorny question: why should only certain plays receive such treatment? Filming the occasional production is a novelty but filming every production would be an act of historical significance.
