I have finally gotten around to reading the play I bought on my last trip to New York City, Amy’s View by David Hare. David Hare is a contemporary British playwright. This is the only play of his that I have read.
This play seems like nothing more than a slice of life offered up for our consideration. It is not clear what the playwright is trying to say about life. It is not clear what lesson we are to learn from these events. You might as well come to know anyone’s story. Although I admire these types of plays for their realism, the playwright offers no insight and there seems to be little art in the play. Amy’s view is the viewpoint of the young daughter of a West End actress. And her view seems to be that we should love one another without reservation. This seems pretty vapid even it that view is tested by a betrayal. The only interesting aspect of this play is that one of the characters is a West End actress who falls on hard times. Her daughter’s boyfriend works in television and takes a dim view of theater, but the West End actress is merely amused by this attitude and offers no defense. I am a bit surprised that the film critic feels so threatened by high culture. I have never met anyone who feels so insecure when confronted by high culture, but then I’ve never been in a situation where anyone has been dragged into a cultural setting that makes them feel uncomfortable.
At the moment I am still reading the first volume of a lengthy two volume biography of William Butler Yeats. I am about half way through the first book. I am also adding all of his poems in the Yeats Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets to my notes with analysis. I like these small books but they can contain more poetry than you might think. I still have about 27 poems to consider.
