A Little Life BAM ... Also London 2023- Page 2

[JasonC3]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 1:50pm

I don't want to in any way diminish the trauma and cruelty of Jude's story that both the book and the play center, nor its effects on readers or theatregoers.  I would only add that the play also is about friendship and relationships and how they morph and evolve as we learn more about ourselves and each other.  The book contains many moments of laughter, love, and deep affection.

A couple of links that offer more descriptions:

https://tga.nl/en/productions/een-klein-leven

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/theater/a-little-life-play-amsterdam-ivo-van-hove.html

 

[ijest22]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 10:37pm

Does anyone know why Row A is shown as partial view?  Thanks

[Kad]

Posted: 6/9/22 at 11:05pm

A Little Life is one of the least enjoyable reading experiences I’ve ever had. Yanagihara puts her paper-doll characters through such physical and emotional trauma that it borders on sadism and torture porn. She makes the Old Testament seem light in comparison. And that’s to say nothing of its frankly bizarre take on sexuality. It doesn’t surprise me that a stage adaptation is likewise brutal.

 

 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 12:17pm

Just booked a fantastic seat for A Little Life.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 12:38pm

For those who like the play The Heiress, Yanagihara adapts the story as a gay romance in the first section of her latest work To Paradise. She has a gift with her beautiful prose - I'm not sure I agree with Kad that her characters are "paper-doll[s]", but I would agree that it's the force of her lyricism that make you want to continue reading, not the physiological depths of the characters.

Since A Little Life has already been the subject of countless think pieces about whether it's the great gay novel or merely a fetishised torture porn fantasy where sex only exists as a form of abuse, I'm sure there will be plenty of hot takes when this play finally arrives in New York.

Updated On: 6/23/22 at 12:38 PM

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 12:53pm

TotallyEffed said: "Just booked a fantastic seat for A Little Life."

I have zero knowledge of this production. Do you have any suggestions on the seat location?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 12:55pm

I don’t have any knowledge either, sorry! It does seem like some really amazing seats in the orchestra are actually partial view…not sure in what way or how partial they are.

[Funhouse2]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 1:21pm

In true Van Hove fashion, A Little Life features video projection on both sides of the stage. The video footage is projected on walls that are perpendicular to the audience. Based on where the partial seats are I assume you'll only be able to see one of of those video projection walls from those seats.

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 1:26pm

We get to see the cutting up close on video????

Whoa, man.  The EDGE!  This looks to be even more sensationalistic and empty than the vile novel it's based on. 

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 1:30pm

Maybe I'm wrong but I thought Next Wave Festival was supposed to be accessible "edgy" theatre programming. These prices are insane, especially when 50% of the seats are partial view. I only looked at A Little Life and Hamlet though.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 2:27pm

I called BAM and they really didn’t have much information about the partial view seats. I think it’s too early. My fear is that the subtitles will be hard to read the closer you are to the stage, which will be absolutely miserable for a production that is over four hours long. The person on the phone also made it sound like reading the subtitles from on stage would be impossible, which would render the on stage seats useless, unless you understand Dutch? A little nervous about this one, I booked a seat quite close to the stage.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 3:36pm

Found the full recording online, and here's a screenshot that shows the 2 video screens that probably contribute to the partial view designation of the side seats:



 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 4:05pm

Watching it, it looks like it probably has little to do with the actual video shown on the walls, which is just projections of city streets, and more to do with the action that takes place at the walls, which seems substantial. Although, at this point, the partial view designation of specific seats has to be completely speculative, and I'm not sure how the subtitles factor into it.

Updated On: 6/23/22 at 04:05 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 4:09pm

verywellthensigh said: "We get to see the cutting up close on video????

Whoa, man. The EDGE! This looks to be even more sensationalistic and empty than the vile novel it's based on."

It's really not.

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 6:08pm

So by "stage seating" they just mean seats on the other side of where the audience normally sits? Mkay.

I also feared that partial view would have an impact on the subtitles which seem pretty important. I opted for the cheap seats in the rear mezz because they didn't look terrible from the seat view on the site. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 6:52pm

Yes, the seats are literally on the stage; what's misleading about calling them that, and where would you expect them to be?

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 6/23/22 at 8:59pm

ClydeBarrow said: "So by "stage seating" they just mean seats on the other side of where the audience normally sits? Mkay."

Quite literally the definition of stage seating. 

[MsPiety&Rectitude]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 2:09pm

Kad said: "A Little Life is one of the least enjoyable reading experiences I’ve ever had. Yanagihara puts her paper-doll characters through such physical and emotional trauma that it borders on sadism and torture porn. She makes the Old Testament seem light in comparison. And that’s to say nothing of its frankly bizarre take on sexuality. It doesn’t surprise me that a stage adaptation is likewise brutal.
"

Totally agree. This is a story I don’t need to experience again. Let alone in Dutch lol

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 6/24/22 at 2:19pm

I watched an hour of the recording and decided it wasn't for me. I didn't have a problem with the subject matter, but, rather, that it's in Dutch. If I'm going to spend 4 hours at a play, I'd like to be able to look at the actors faces while they're speaking, and not reading a translation. Given the emotional commitment the show seems to require, I don't think I'd be fully engaged.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 7/24/22 at 9:51pm

Kad said: "A Little Life is one of the least enjoyable reading experiences I’ve ever had. Yanagihara puts her paper-doll characters through such physical and emotional trauma that it borders on sadism and torture porn. She makes the Old Testament seem light in comparison. And that’s to say nothing of its frankly bizarre take on sexuality. It doesn’t surprise me that a stage adaptation is likewise brutal.



"

@Kad. I just finished the book in preparation for the play in October and have to disagree with your assessment. For one, I don’t think paper-doll characterization is appropriate for at least several of the well-drawn characters Yanagihara created: not least of which Jude, Willem, JD, and yes, even Harold. 

Would I have picked this book up with even a brief description of what’s inside, probably not.  But I was quite moved throughout by the vacillation between pure pleasure and utter cruelty.  Could I have done less of the latter: certainly yes.  While not torture porn or sadism, I think her point was made within 100 pages on that subject and perhaps didn’t require some 300 additional pages to make that point.  Or perhaps it was: I don’t know if I would be so affected if not for the constant reminder of pain.  

This book was not a pleasure to get through, but it was oftentimes quite gorgeous.  The male relationships Yanagihara creates are so much more meaningful than those Lopez created in The Inheritance, who seems to have taken some inspiration from this book. More importantly, I don’t know, and may never have known, a person who inhabits Jude’s mentality.  Having seen that person is important. 

I’ll be at BAM for one of the last performances and really hope Van Hove nails this material: I really can’t think of a better director who could. 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 1:34pm

Bumping this thread...anyone going tomorrow?  Very interested in hearing thoughts and opinions.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 2:12pm

Really interested to hear about subtitles in regards to seating. I don’t want to be straining to read subtitles for over four hours.

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 2:28pm

if anyone interested, I am selling one ticket, Saturday 10/29/2022 7:00 PM as I won't be able to go - it would be too late to take the subway home after the show.

I paid $45 plus $9.5 in fees, selling it for $45

DM if interested
ticket is in PDF

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 3:06pm

Going on Friday. Excited and nervous. It is probably my favorite book and I still cry just talking about it. It is one of the few pieces of art that has ever had that profound impact on me and I’m honestly just scared to “go there” again, if that makes sense.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/19/22 at 4:05pm

^. Same.  Just reread the book to get prepared to see the show and was gutted once again.