jack

My tolerance for embarrassment humour has fallen quite a lot. I'm not especially fond of it even in when it's done very well (eg. Fawlty Towers??) And I was questioning why Home (nee The True Meaning of Smeckday) worked for me when many films don't.

I think it might be that it felt compassionate to both sides. Early on in the film there's characterisation of Oh, who is constantly trying to make friends with the other aliens, who are constantly avoiding him. Which is the sort of thing that's usually just painful to watch, and was the point that came closed to cringe-worthy-ness (and may have exceeded it for some of my cinema companions).

But partly, it wasn't doubling down on how awful it was: it was sad, but it didn't get MORE and MORE humiliating. And partly, I empathised with Oh (who was genuinely trying to be nice to people) and also the people he knew (who were being forced into a social situation they didn't want).

That's just a guess, but I find it hard to explain what I want in humour (lots of it but not excruciating) and I keep introspecting about it...

It was strange being back in worcester. Everything was narrower than I remembered :) But it was lovely to see mum and dad, I think I'd missed them more than I'd realised. It didn't last very long, but we had a concentrated day and a half together, and then I got off to Tolkien 2005.

I know everyone else disagrees, but I enjoyed the weather we had.

I was curious to see the lectures, and some were very interesting/amusing, though all in all I probably might as well have gone to an oxonmoot. But the CTS managed a staggering number of performances, which was why I really wanted to go.

The Reduced Silmarillion COmpany, (by Matthew, Matthew, Matthew and Mark and a something or performing eagles) was really great, though I need to reread the silmarilion and remember more of it. I won't try and reproduce any of the jokes, you have to see it, but if you've seen a 'reduced' company before you'll know the idea; much simplified costumes and collapsing of large battles into one arm movement. This performance was especially successful because the audience really knew the material and hence got the jokes :) Unquestionably see it if you ever get the chance though the actors are rather tired of it now and intend to get away from it...

The Radio Play. For maybe the last time the CTS did a readthrough of selected portions of the radio play. It was very fun, and very much adored despite being at Early O'clock on sunday. For this and RSC[1][2] people were coming up to the casts all weekend thanking them, helped of course by the identifying T-shirts. And I think this one was the one with the standing ovation; the others were on the cusp.

[1] LOTG presumably being too late in the weekend; it was certainly popular enough.
[2] For crying out loud, how many Reduced foo Companies are there? How many have the acronym RSC? :)

I had the usual smattering of small parts including Odo Proudfoot. I felt very guilty when I managed to arrive late (having non-on-site accomodation) due to difficulty getting up at 7, trying to get a vegetarian breakfast at the busy time whilst chatting to a netball team, and then jogging across brum, but felt it was completely made up for by not missing any lines, and managing to burst in just at Bilbo's speach, calling out "PROUDFEET" from the back of the room.

Mole and Esther singing. You can't get away from the CTS at T2k5. Esther signed her first autographs!

Lord of the Goons by Tim Kelby, Tim Kelby, Tim Kelby, Anna Slack and Tim Kelby. I've heard it before, but by Ephal is it good. Like the others it benefited enormously from having a large, drunk, audience intimitely familiar with LOTR (and with a significant minority having seen the goon show too :)); all sorts of things got applause, though that rather ruined some of the jokes dependant on reading out fictional stage directions predicted on no applause :)

The CTS should spin off a complete drama society. People were certainly planning some sketches for next year, with Matthew D provisionally suggesting he'd help collate offerings so we can decide which to enact. I should have a go at parlaying my acceptable story writing into a performance career...