This event was one of those things that rather attract only the aficionados of literature or of a specific nation notorious for its drunken crankiness. The event is Songs of Joyce: Musical Extravaganza.
| To be perfectly frank, it wasn’t all that extravagant in any conceivable sense. Though, to bother Thou with some etymology, the meaning of the English theatrical term ‘Extravaganza’ is derived from the Italian word stravaganza, ‘influenced by extravagance’. It refers to a show, or "whimsical treatment of a poetical subject," (James R. Planché) and it involves a mixture of musical, pantomime, and ballet (J.A.Cuddon). In this sense it might aspire to some level of extravagance; what however deserves less self-indulgent criticism and more wide-eyed praise is the admirable level of synchronization and theatrical prowess with which the two performers—lovelyladies, one in her late 20s, the other in her 40s—executed their shtick.
The selection of the particular songs was dynamic and varied in style and so the show was at times hilarious, at times profound. Nevertheless, there weren’t that many minds to be struck with hilarity or profundity and the approximately 15-20 people that arrived were somehow acquainted with each other in some way or another. I didn’t mind it though;the smaller scale of such rather secluded events lends it a certain kind of intimacy. It furnished a calming balm of being cut off from the outside world in the company of the selected few with no morons around trying to connect to their ‘friends’ but all of the people there were really mentally present, relishing the performance.
An ending note is this: go out, explore the various Literature-related opportunities Prague has to offer, and, above all, do not ever trust a guy with red hair. There’s something sinister about these folk… |
