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Post by Laila on Aug 28, 2013 6:39:45 GMT
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Post by kygal on Aug 28, 2013 10:36:49 GMT
Thanks.
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Post by Laila on Aug 28, 2013 11:12:43 GMT
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Post by lovethemanrs on Aug 28, 2013 11:28:22 GMT
Hmmmmmm Darkside....interesting
3 thoughts so far!!
1. Beware of jugglers.
2. Don't over-filos-o-fize....can cause severe migraine.
3. That explains everything - I am a thought experiment!! But whose??
LOL...luv Mr Baggott (aka Ethics Man) or is that Essex Man with a lisp?!!
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Post by nell on Aug 28, 2013 20:19:36 GMT
CONTAINS SPOILERSSorry to have been a party pooper and leave early. I listened live on Monday through surround sound with the animation running on my laptop and lights out - I wanted the full immersive effect. Only the lateness and the Floyd effect made me want to lie back and close my eyes so I missed the last of the animation  . (It's still available online with animation for those that fancy a bit of flirt with Floyd.) I was too beat to even try to write my thoughts. So now that I'm lucid (or am I?!) here it is............ I thought the play was quite brilliant. Rufus had a great part and carried it off perfectly. It could have been written for him. The mercurial Mr Baggott losing his eraser closely followed by his head...... And "super hero" caped or should I say woolley jumpered, flouncing Ethics Man brought through shades of Petruchio, Charles 2 not to mention a potato weilding Albert (I think it was the jumper  ). I particularly loved "Ethics Man is a Utilitarian. He says an action is a moral action only if the consequences are good if they increase the sum of human happiness. We define happiness as a state of wellbeing, starting off with being alive instead of dead."  And plagarism "I'm the witch!" "no, I'm the witch!" Spartacus eat your heart out. Had to chuckle at the reference to "green shoots" the political gaff recently used to describe the improving Britsh economy, just days before we hear the recession had worsened . On a deeper level - I'm inclined to agree that mankind will bring about it's own destruction eventually in the same way the recession was brought about by greed and self-serving interests. Perhaps we all need to turn Baggott and parachute down leaving the bankers of this world to reap what they sow. But wouldn't that reduce us to their level? And what is the good in asking "what is the good"? Do you believe in the juggler?! Regarding Radio Downloader - I had a message pop up advising the BBC had requested they be removed from the Radio Downloader website. Danny Cohen strikes again - no doubt. Grrrrrrrrrr! The Beep advise they will make Radio Downloads available from 2014. Fat lot of good that is!
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Post by lassie on Aug 29, 2013 9:10:07 GMT
I have only had chance to listen to it once live so far - will try to catch it on I player before it disappears  . Sorry to say it, but I really don't enjoy listening to Pink Floyds' music. There were times when I wanted to turn down the volume as I find the music depresses and irritates me but couldn't in case I missed some of the play. !!!!!! I did enjoy hearing the play. I am sure the more you listen the more you get out of it. I remember a line said by the fat man something like " I saved three skinny bastards" which made me laugh out loud. I love the sound of Rufus's voice and I wasn't disappointed - just wish he had more dialogue . I think I barely touched the surface of understanding, but it gives me an excuse to keep listening to Rufus  |
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Post by nell on Aug 29, 2013 20:26:44 GMT
What a shame Lassie. The music had the opposite effect on me. I felt so chilled I was in danger of drifting off. For anyone interested in a rough outline of the play - in my view........ I think that Emily is actually barking. Dr Antrobus and Mr Baggott as the only other people that actually exist are working in the mental institute where Emily is held. She hears voices in her head and imagines all the other characters i.e. the thought experiments. We even hear that smarties and liquorice bombs are provided  Mr Baggott is a real sport though - shabazzzz!!!  And how dare Emily call Ethics Man a dick head?! Maybe we'll get multiple different takes on the story??? In a Pinteresque kind of way. Maybe I'll even change my view when I've listened again............... Is anyone getting what I am? Or am I the one that's barking? |
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Post by adina on Aug 29, 2013 20:49:45 GMT
"Hands up who thinks Ethics Man did the right thing...Hands up who thinks Ethics Man did the wrong thing...Hands up who didn't put a hand up."What a fantastic radio play! I trust Rufus and Stoppard completely, but I have to admit all my happy anticipation was poor compared with what I got.  ! I listened to the premiere with headphones on and watching the animation - now I still use the headphones, but I don't think this audio needs any visual bonus. I am younger than the album, but I am older than Emily. I don't think one has to belong to a certain generation to cross the emotional threshold (as Ms Killjoy from The Telegraph said), the play deals with timeless problems. I can feel the horror of a young person who faces the world. Later we have methods to handle these things, but the first meeting with the "big questions" is shocking. what is the good in asking "what is the good"? Do you believe in the juggler?! Well, Emily's mother shouts "Wake up, Emily, the life is going by!" These questions are important. But everyone can choose what way they give their own answers. I like Amaka Okafor's Emily very much. Her pissed off voice at the "Thanks very much, Ethics Man, I hope you are happy now." and Stoppard's joke on this happiness-maximizing utilitarianism is so funny!  Or the Boy's earlier serious "Yeah, I could have stopped the glaciers melting probably."  I just love the style of the play. I would like to quote a lot of lines! Yes, that witchcraft part was terrific. "No, it's me who is the witch, Doctor. Bill Nighy:"No, it's me who is the witch doctor <piggish laugh> <in a disappointed voice> No laughter in the public benches?!" I liked very much the feeling before Emily's speech, that "Go, girl!" supporting when she was holding her breath. And I loved her thoughtwave. I like the script, I like the jokes, I like the actors, I like the noises, I like how the music acts, it is really celebrated in this play. I am enchanted.  Mr Baggott is a great role! And Rufus's performance is rich, full of nuance.  When a thought experiment called him "that swine Baggott" I thought, oh, yes, you are right, let's kick him, and when he was funny I laughed and so on. I love Rufus's voice and I love the way he uses his voice. "Let me through! I am a moral philosopher." , "Shazam!" or "Spot the dilemma?" , "We don't make progress...The good life - justice and fairness." I'll learn his lines by heart with pleasure, he teaches me in such a lovely way. P.S. I just read your latest comment, Nell. I am here, I am just slow. I saw your cap-it as well, it was funny! I just need more time.
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Post by Rachel on Aug 30, 2013 0:11:41 GMT
Got to listen to this today and thought it was fantastic. I have to say that I am glad I listened to this online and got to see the animations. I am such a visual person, I can't listen to audiobooks as my attention wanders, so it was good to have something to focus on as I listened.
I agree with Nell, Emily, Mr. Baggott, and Dr. Antronus were the only real people. Everything else was in Emily's head. But I do think Mr. Bloggett was her teacher, to many of his lines struck home to me, the reaction of a teacher who's class doesn't really care. My heart broke for Emily when Bloggett visited her in the hospital, she so desperately wanted to know if he believed in the juggler and poor Bloggett didn't have a clue.
Loved the mix of comedy and pathos, loved all of the movie references. Rufus did his usual wonderful job and I was happy this project did him justice. But then again, with Tom Stoppard writing the material, how could it not?
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Post by lassie on Aug 30, 2013 8:34:05 GMT
Well I listened to it again and realised the one line I thought I had remembered - I hadn't remembered correctly at all. (Very Pinter / Old Times). The line was " three thin balloonists, bastards". I want to listen to it again - I still feel there is so much I have missed. My favourite line at the moment is said by Rufus of course as ethics man when he has his cape and he says "I can flounce a little". Tom Stoppards' plays remind me of Disney Films, which have dialogue for children and adults, except he has dialogue for adults and then for highly intelligent, very knowledgable adults!!!!! I like your plot summary Nell and hearing everyones views. It is a fantastic piece of work. You are left with endless questions. Who or what is the boy? How do we know it is the same juggler on the radio all the time - there could be more than one. What is so wrong with a wife giving a jumper instead of a cape as a present |
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Post by Laila on Aug 30, 2013 13:26:45 GMT
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Post by nell on Aug 30, 2013 18:52:19 GMT
Let's have the interview on here in case it disappears.
Post-watershed, bank holiday Radio 2 isn't the first place you would look for trippy, abstract programming. Monday night is Big Band Special night, the Antiques Roadshow of the airwaves. If it made no sense that Tom Stoppard's massively hyped new play, a philosophical interpretation of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, would premiere here then the next hour would be an even bigger bag of weird.
Darkside opens with a train full of passengers saved from crashing by Ethics Man (Rufus Sewell), who diverts the carriages on to another track, killing a boy who was playing on them. Ethics Man later tells us that he is a utilitarian consequentialist – the ends justified the means, and so he'd achieved the greatest good for the greatest number. It's the first and last bit of concrete rationality you can pin on Stoppard's acid-tinted, Wizard of Ozzed take on Floyding.
Emily (Amaka Okafor) a philosophy student, is off to seek the Wise One (Peter Marinker) with a pal (Iwan Rheon) who has no name and doesn't exist because, like a juggler on the radio no one could see or hear, he's a thought experiment. All the songs from Dark Side are played in the hour. Nietzsche, Kant and Hobbes are referenced in a superbong haze of half thoughts and elliptical subplots that unravel in chin-stroking loops. Who is the Fat Man? (Answer: Adrian Scarborough.) Why is the Witch Finder playing at being Bill Nighy rather than the other way round? When will Stoppard tire of being such a complicated egghead?
I must point out to the author - er "post- watershed" might be the time I'd expect to see or should I say hear a trippy, abstract programme. Made perfect sense to me. You are not slow Adina but the most quick witted of us all. I just arrived at the party and was keen to dance I think I should learn the lines from Adina - I substituted Shazam with Shabaz, but what's a bazzam between friends?! So many great lines but I think the "I flounce a little" has to be up there with Rufus's "I've been known to ripple" line in the Old Times era interview. I can't help but wonder if Mr Baggott is another patient Rachel. I don't think he realises though. Funny you say that Lassie, it reminded me a bit of the Magic Roundabout. |
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Post by ginny on Aug 31, 2013 16:32:07 GMT
Is anyone interested in a transcription of the play? I'm currently cleaning up the transcription I made and I suppose I can post it. (All the native speakers can pick out the typos and mishearings). It took ages to type the thing out. Probably longer than it took Mr. Stoppard to write it. And I noticed that at 67% of normal speed some of them sound like they've had a few beers too many... And the music sounds even more spaced out than at normal speed. BTW, the music grew on me and the painstaking attention to the text made me discover more into it than at the first listening. The lyrics are a part of the play. You gotta love those musicians that tell a story with their lyrics, instead of four times the refrain with nonsense inbetween. |
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Post by ginny on Aug 31, 2013 16:53:12 GMT
I can't help but wonder if Mr Baggott is another patient Rachel. I don't think he realises though. You might have a point there. I'm relistening the spelling of Nietzsche bit and Mr. Baggott goes worryingly Duchemin over the eraser... And then suddenly disappears for quite some time too. |
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Post by Laila on Aug 31, 2013 16:58:01 GMT
Is anyone interested in a transcription of the play? I'm currently cleaning up the transcription I made and I suppose I can post it. (All the native speakers can pick out the typos and mishearings). I'm very interested  I'm still not able to appreciate the play (probaly because I don't like PF very much), maybe with the transcription it would be better. Thanks. |
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. (It's still available online with animation for those that fancy a bit of flirt with Floyd.) I was too beat to even try to write my thoughts. So now that I'm lucid (or am I?!) here it is............
). 
And how dare Emily call Ethics Man a dick head?! 
