It has been a while since I was able to dig my teeth into this play, but the joy and fascination remains. And in particular, besides the joy of experiencing wonderful comradeship in this one, the beauty of the idiom of Tennessee Williams’ pen has held me captivated. I had read “A Streetcar Named Desire” in college and seen videos of the cinematic adaptations of “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof”, but nothing could have prepared me for the sheer force by which “The Two Character Play” would enrapture my senses.
I was introduced to the play first by my director, Gurleen Judge. She presented it to me as a play close to her heart for various reasons, and like her, I immediately fell in love with it. Though now I do feel that both me and my co-actor Humhu were too young at that hit the darker notes, I will still try to express what I felt.
What struck me first was the high level of poetry. I had never quite seen language be molded in this way. That Williams was a fanatic for the magical in human relationships and a beautiful escapist from reality is well known, but in him I found a kind of humor and gravity that took my breath away. The influence of the church and biblical ritual was distilled so beautifully of its insanity until only the sheer poetic and beautiful remained. It was like falling in love with a make-believe country with rituals of the stage.
Now that I am a three-plays-old playwright, I can say that Williams was a key influence in helping me mark the transition as a writer from the “right” kind of work to writing that is personal, vulnerable, and rooted in my skin. Mr Williams struck me as the kind of writer who kicked himself several times when a metaphor went just a little too far or a pause lasted just a little longer than need. People say Pinter is the king of the “pause” but they clearly haven’t read TTCP.
The constant back and forth between brother and sister; the clever dance of repartee between two seasoned thespians; it all makes for such good theatre.
Here is a small, sweet and simple musically charged bit that I particularly enjoyed delivering as Clare, to give my readers a taste :
