Dear family and friends,
Laury came over fairly early in the a.m., and we viewed Measure for Measure together, the 2004 Globe version, with Mark Rylands, who seemed ideal for the difficult role of the Duke. The whole production was splendid, a filmed version of a performance at the Globe Theatre in London. It was very satisfying to see Sam Wanamaker's dream come true in such a gorgeous way, with a full audience of groundings and ladies and gents in the seated rings, a creatively costumed and above all magnificently acted production.
When I write about a production, I sometimes see as an original idea something that actually was adopted from a previous production. I remember how caught I was by Doug Overtoom as Hamlet, who also played the ghost who spoke in an eerie fashion out of his son's mouth. This turned out not to be original. A British actor by the name of Jonathan Pryce had originated the idea, or rather, more probably, the director had. It's a puzzle for someone like me writing about productions. I like to credit the originator of an idea, but because it is simply impossible to know all the productions of a play like Hamlet, or even Measure for Measure, performed so much less often, I can never be certain. These thoughts come to mind because some of the little decisions I have admired in the TFANA Measure were already there in some form or other at the Globe. All I can do is say "This is what I saw; this is what I know is not original but that doesn't make it any less good in its reincarnation; and the rest of what is done may or may not be original.”
I doubt, anyway, that originality is all that important: a production has to be in some sense seamless, and many aspects will be traditional. Take Ophelia and her flowers in Hamlet. She sometimes has real flowers, sometimes stones, sometimes twigs, sometimes nothing. It all works within the fabric of the whole.
Laury and I watched the DVD on my big computer screen, ideal for the purpose. She sat next to me and took notes on her computer. My screen can accommodate a note-taking document, so I can easily take notes as I watch. I want to watch the whole film again without taking notes, just to enjoy each moment. Maybe someone in the family (Merwin?) will watch with me. We also have a Hamlet waiting to be watched.
I was very tired in the morning when I got up, and I was thrilled actually that I was able to do 12 minutes on the stationery bike, and then work with Laury for a few hours with a little break for a rest.
We went to the supper gathering at RSNS, which was very sparsely attended. The idea of dividing the congregation of about 350 into 4 groups of all ages was to encourage people to get to know each other better—as the founders did when there were 10, 20, 50, and even 100 members. But it turns out that a random grouping just didn't work for most of us. Merwin and I came to a few events and were not impressed with our own ability to make connections—well actually Merwin was not terribly interested in making connections anyway, certainly not enough to make an effort: his idea is let them come naturally, I think. I might be sitting next to a young woman with three little children and enjoy our talk at table very much. But what next?
But I had a good time; several people greeted me very warmly, happy to see me back: this is the first evening event I have attended in several months, even before the fall and broken pelvis. When people ask me now about my red-blotched arms, I tell them quite frankly and cheerfully: "blood cancer." That usually ends that conversation, thank goodness.
After the supper, we went home to chores, to get ready for Bill Maher, on HBO at 10:00 on Fridays. I enjoy him very much not because I agree with hm (though I do agree on many things), but because he is outrageous. He often has a mix of liberal-leaning and conservative guests, and Maher and the guests often make me laugh out loud. Merwin has taken to watching with me. If I miss it on Friday night, I watch for repeats during the week at various hours.
Sleeping still is a problem, both from the discomfort (I think I can downgrade pelvic-leg pain to “discomfort") and from the general wakefulness. The combination of little sleep, broken sleep, and fatigue during the day all adds up, and with less prednisone to counteract it, gets worse. I drink a lot of coffee.
But the sun is shining; the umbrella on the deck did its work yesterday, beautifully shading the benches on the deck. It's supposed to reach 87 degrees today, which will give us a good chance to see how usable the usually sun-drenched deck will be today.
Sunny days and Love to all,
Bernice
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