RAT What the hell do critics know.

[kafclown@well.com]

I wanted to share a little story about the critics---

I was the assistant director (and actor) in a production of Henry V in
Buffalo years ago.
The director (Kazimierz Braun) had cut a great portion of the play, and
then didn't cut the part that's always cut -- the reading of the dead
names.  It took about 25 minutes, because each name was followed by a
coffin that was ceremoniously brought out and placed on the stage.  (This
was an outdoor show, so by this point in the play, the torches are
flickering and it's getting dark.)  The last scene (Henry conquering
Katherine Queen of France, a very funny scene) was played out on top of
these coffins.  England's France was built on the coffins of the dead.  A
very cool image.

Anyway, the reviewers came and didn't like this interpretation for some
reason, and raked Kaz about his production-- it wasn't what they expected
out of Henry V.  I asked Kaz what he thought about the review.  He said:

"I have seen this play hundreds of times in rehearsal, from the beginning
to the end.  I hae thought about this play a great deal. The reviewer, he
has only seen it once!"