The
Tower by Joe Joyce, playing at the New Theater is a play about friendship
and its relationship to art. We are introduced to James Joyce played by Barry
McGovern who filled in on a thirty minutes notice for Tom Hickey as he was
sick. In the role of Oliver St. John Gogarty we had Bosco Hogan. The short play
took a look into the long and dysfunctional relationship between Gogarty and
Joyce. The play is fifty minutes yet in those fifty minutes, Gogarty and Joyce
are able to unearth decades of problems that surrounded both of their
relationships and there view of what art should be. One thing to be noted is
Barry McGovern was forced to have a script in hand as he filled in last minute for
Tom Hickey who was originally slated to play Joyce.
The
Tower is about the dysfunctional and sad relationship between Gogarty and
Joyce that is clear right from the start of the play, the setting of the play,
cements this idea for the audience. It's set in Joyce 's famous tower, where
his famous epic Ulysses first chapter takes place. The reason why
this is important to the relationship is that Buck Mulligan is based off of
Gogarty and the tower is one of the most famous places in the novel, where Stephen
Dedalus (James Joyce) and Buck Mulligan (Oliver St. John Gogarty) interact with
each other. For the The Tower, this is the perfect scene for these two
literary men to look at each others careers. To fully understand this play one
must know the details of Joyce and Gogarty and the history behind there
literature. It's a play that requires academic background, as a viewer myself
only knowing of only Joyce I was able to understand some knowledge of what
Joyce was trying to convey, it was through Bosco Hogan acting I was able to see
what type of character Gogarty was. The set helps compliment the characters,
it's able in it self to become a different character. The tower itself becomes
a mark in the relationship of these two writers, it sets a time in their relationship
when everything went wrong but at the same time they were the most successful
in their career. With the play being set in modern day Ireland in the city of
Dublin in the old Joyce tower, the two characters are able to reflect on their
lives. It's very much set around these two characters, everything about the
lighting and set is meant to help further these two's relationship and spread
light on the two, especially with the references to Ulysses throughout the play.
The
main theme of the play is friendship, and where does it stand in connection
with art. Joyce and Gogarty have very different concepts of what art is and
this is the main objective of the play is to examine these brilliant writers
and by picking a part their relationship. We as the viewers are able to see the
different meanings of art as both writers push their concepts. Bosco Hogan
gives an amazing performance of Gogarty, he captures the easy going nature of
Gogarty compared to the stiffness of Barry McGovern Joyce who performance got
better throughout the play and did an amazing job filling in for Tom Hickey.
It's interesting to look at this piece and where it stand in Irish theater, as
it takes place in Dublin and has one of the most influential writers in history
with Joyce and another brilliant Irish writer in Gogarty. The plays main
question and something it keeps coming back to throughout is the question of
who's concept of art is right. Is Joyce concept of art being everything about
the human experience down to the dirty moments, or is it more to the point of
Gogarty who is more about the beauty and the writing more about the Greeks and
Romans. Being a viewer who is more in touch with Joyces work and not knowing
Gogarty work, its hard to fully understand this question when first asked. It's
through the performance though and dialogue you are able to get a better
understanding the different concepts going on between the different concepts
Bosco
Hogan performance of Gogarty really carried the play due to the fact he was the
only one off script due to problems with sickness. His performance as a viewer
who knows nothing of Gogarty really shaped the play. Hogan has a powerful voice
that command the attention of the audience which works with Gogarty attitude
throughout the play. His stage presence and his movement helped show the
different nature of Gogarty compared to McGovern Joyce who was much more stiff
in his appearance. Hogan for the role has to bring energy to almost every scene
to show the different natures with Gogarty compared to Joyce. It's all the
actors movements to show the differences in the the two different characters. Hogan character is more
sympathetic to the audience, because of Hogan's acting ability to play to the
audience of being the fun loving character but at the same time being able to
bring sympathy to a character who has been wronged by Joyce in Joyce's
portrayal of Gogarty in Ulysses. Hogan as a actor must find a balance
throughout the play of being sympathetic yet at the same time being able to fun
loving character. Though we do see shades of gray in his character with
McGovern Joyce who sheds light on the relationship and that there were words
and accusations thrown at each other throughout the years. It's not fully Joyce
who is at full fault, this is what Joyce is trying to say, throughout the play.
Of course though the question comes back to art and what is art. Joyce's main
push is that he immortalized his friends through his work. For anyone who has
read Ulysses knows, being written in the image of Buck Mulligan is not
something you want to be remembered for. The
question of art is what the two actors are trying to answer throughout
their performance.
Joyce
and Gogarty both have different concepts of what art is throughout the play.
Joyce believes art is everything, it's the dirtiness in ones life. Gogarty
believes it's more about the beauty, it's going back to the Romans and Greeks.
Joyce accuses Gogarty of abandoning the art, of leaving everything he loved in
art to “sell out”, which Joyce is some sort is correct about. Then we have
Gogarty who accuses Joyce of selling out his friends for the sake of art. Joyce
believes this is the price of true art. It's the dialogue, and the quotes from
both of the writer which helps this play connects ideas to the past. In the end
of the play though we have Gogarty agreeing with Joyce that his form of art is
true. This is one of the few problems of the play, as a viewer I encountered.
Gogarty throughout the play is built to be the more sympathetic character, as a
viewer we are built to feel more for Gogarty. It's his sudden change in
character in the end of the play to admit to Joyce that he is right that
doesn't fit well with Hogan's development of Gogarty. It doesn't fit the
portrayal of the characters for either of the two to admit the other was right,
it's a problem that ruined a friendship but at the same time sparked the
question of art.
The
was production as a viewer I believe was done well, it left question of both
writers and the question of what is art, and it's a question that can't be
simply answered. One of the main things I took away is that both men were right
in the concepts of art. Art is different for everyone, and it's through the
contrasting attitudes and lives of the two writers we are able to see this in
the play. The other main theme of this
play is friendship, and the dialogue in the play and the word play in the two
actors conversation is amazing. Hogan and McGovern both have a stage presence
that draws the viewer in, and this is important in this type of play. This play is not a play meant for everyone,
there is a special audience for this play. You must know some sort of history
of either writer to have some sort of grip of what the play is trying to do. As
someone who studied Ulysses I still found it very hard to follow the
quotes, and relationship throughout the play. Even though it was hard to
follow, the script of the play does
shine light on the twos relationship by slowly uncovering and reliving things
to the audience. The team of actors, director, and crew did an amazing job in
showcasing the relationship between Joyce and Gogarty. They were able in the
short time they had to bring many issues up that haunted both men, and is part
of both men legacies. Having time to
rethink on the piece, it still sticks to me as it did when I first left the
theater. Both actors left there marks on the famous writers, and the question
they asked of what is art is something that I keep asking myself after every
performance and the play I view.
~Mayhan Bimar
James Joyce Tower, Sandymount
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