TV Times

Hello people

I went to see a play tonight, which was both fantastically disturbing and disturbingly fantastic, or vice versa. And while I was watching it, I had a number of confused thoughts, but the one that took priority was: I must write about this on my blog while it's fresh in my mind!

It basically centres on this old couple, Fred and Doris, whose whole lives are spent sitting in watching TV. They never, ever go out. (It's never really made clear how they survive without ever going out, but the play is nonsense really, and a lot of things aren't explained properly.) While he appears to only think about the TV shows, it is made clear how much Fred depends on Doris, and is scared that she will leave him and go 'into the outside world'.

Someone knocks on the door and starts gibbering about religious nonsense. Then, a girl in a hoodie, carrying a knife and a gun, breaks into the house, claiming to be 'the result of what this country has come to.' It becomes clear to the audience at this point that the entire play is about stereotypes - Fred and Doris represent the boring older couple with no life, the voice outside represents a super-religious person, and the girl in the hoodie represents the 'teenage hoodie culture' person, that the media seems so very fond of condemning.

Anyway, the hoodie girl becomes very scared by the voice from outside, saying that she is disturbed by what he is saying, because she wants to be more than that. Then a policeman comes in - a very stupid policeman - as in, the ''Ello, ello, ello'' types from fifties and sixties comedies. He's another stereotype! And then, he goes out and comes back with a massive gun, as a stereotype of a different kind of policeman!

Anyway, the hoodie girl forms a bond with Doris, who adopts her as 'the daughter she never had'. Hoodie Girl persuades Doris to come into the outside world with her, and Doris reluctantly does so, leaving Fred in front of the TV. Fred eventually notices, and becomes very scared and disturbed. The TV goes wrong and stops working - but occasionally the news comes on, with the newsreader reporting very disturbing things that are supposedly happening in the outside world.

Doris and the hoodie girl come back, and Fred is very relieved. Next time the news comes on, Doris warmly greets the newsreader - and it is revealed that he is not in fact on the TV, but actually in the room with them. Then eventually Rosie, a tart with a heart, comes in and reveals that they now all need to leave Fred on his own, because his TV license is expiring. No one, apart from Fred, is real - they are all TV characters! Stereotypes!

All the fake characters take this very well - except hoodie girl, who is terrified about leaving, and wants to be a real person with real free will. But they eventually leave Fred on his own - and then Fred dies.

As I said, I found this play to be really, really disturbing. It might not be so intriguing the way I say it here - but from where I was sitting, I felt a real connection. I found I could relate particularly to hoodie girl - because she is terrified of being a stereotype and wants to be a real person. I feel exactly the same way, because I'm very much a one-off - I'm not a stereotype at all, but only because I've forced myself not to be. I'm also scared of becoming like Fred, because I do watch a lot of TV, but I think that there must be more to me than that, if you know what I mean.

Anyway - this play has kind of inspired me to make a new start. I get inspirations like that every few weeks, but this one has been über-strong. This blog post probably seems a bit random to any reader, but I felt a particular revelation tonight, and I just had to get it written down. So I hope this has been entertaining in some way.

No entries for 'People to Love and Admire' this week, I'm simply not in that kind of mood.

I have a lot of projects over the summer - but I hope I'll be able to update this from time to time, or whenever.

Take care, guys! Have a great summer, and remember to keep checking back here!