THE MYSTERIES
I really liked The Mysteries. It was incredibly artistic and very spiritual for me, even without a Christian faith. I liked the set, which was simple and big, but it had so many details and contraptions; when God said "let there be light" and lit the whole area with lanterns and lamps, they were like stars which continued to flicker throughout the whole show. Noah's ark was particularly creative and practical; I liked how they used umbrellas and their voices to imitate the animals. I liked how modernity and tradition where involved in the set and costumes; like the soldiers dressed as construction workers, and then the opening to hell being that claw thing you would see on construction machinery. I wonder if there is a correlation with the "bad guys" using machinery, especially construction machinery and costume; maybe the man-made construction is man-made destruction. Or maybe I'm being too pessimistic.
I loved the music, it really made the scenes and decided the emotion. It was jazzy, with saxophone solos- and not lame ones either; pink floyd style rock, which was just so chill and transcendent; culturally influenced music (Northern English), especially with the songs with singing. Oh goodness, I think that I could have enjoyed the music just by itself, and actually, is it recorded anywhere? It really brought the scene to the intensity it needed to be at, it started the scene with the emotion it needed, it created the humorous mood, it was just great.
The acting was phenomenal. I mean, it was so real; it was just being, not acting. I loved that the old actress, the one who played Noah's wife and older Mary established her role as a comedian- she was just so unconventional and really funny. I can't stand that older actresses tend to be forgotten in the U.S. It was just wonderful, every actor understood their character, and each character became a person; the actors made these biblical characters into real people, of flesh and blood, of suffering and joy, of terror and release. I just can't explain to you who I felt when I saw Abraham struggling so much with sacrificing his son for God- I never could feel Abraham's pain, but only see God's cold selfishness. Abraham became to me a man, a man who loved too much (I know that sounds soooo corny and cliché). But for real. I understand now: God pushed him to that epiphany of his entire capacity for love beyond himself, and that's why it was necessary that God stop him. All Abraham needed to know was the extent a human could feel. It must have been an amazing experience to be able to release Isaac from death; it must have been the most incredible, most divine experience. I know the actors felt it. I know it because I did (maybe not in its entire grasp). However, I'm a little skeptical about the actor who played Jesus. Of course, I recognize that this is my opinion and if I learned more about his interpretation, I might realize that I feel different. I don't feel like he was compassionate enough- I have always imagined Jesus as an incredibly compassionate person. Jesus didn't really look and connect with each actor when he gave them bread, it didn't feel like he was giving his body with his full commitment and sincerity. Nor did he do a very good job of washing people's feet- he didn't even bother to wash the bottoms. I mean, they had taken such care throughout the whole play to not rush scenes and really extract all the significance of actions. And he was almost too cruel when he condemned people at the end; but i guess he was supposed to be God, and perhaps not just Jesus. Also, I was a bit critical of the biblical interpretation, only because I could hear certain doctrine which I don't entirely advocate. Especially with the doom's day, he told the women they could only be saved through motherhood and wifehood, like Mary. I don't agree with that. I think all beings have the capacity of being "saved"- but that's not entirely relevant. I was just disappointed. But I did like all the other actors and their roles.
Anways, I really like The Mysteries. It was incredibly artistic and spiritual for me, even without a Christian faith.