|
Tuesday, August 30, 2005 Answers for Simon Simon, You are welcome to quote anything from the website or the blogs. My answers are below within: Hi Michael, Here are the questions for you regarding my piece for the Observer. If you can answer as fully as time allows I would be extremely grateful. I'm finding your website fascinating and very useful. I would like to quote, in brief, a couple of lines here and there, esp. regarding how you became involved with Hair and your thoughts on some other productions and Hair's long post-Sixties life. Is this OK? 1. Would you agree that Hair appears as relevant now as it did in the late Sixties? Is it possible to explain why? Yes, Hair is about freedom, peace and love. Its lessons are permanent and universal. The particular concentration on the Vietnam War resonates with the current Iraq invasion. Like many classics which are dated in period and story, Hair creates an area for thought and introspection. 2. Were you always confident that the first productions would hit such a deep groove with so many people? What were the most extreme reactions either way? Never even thought about it. I wanted to do Hair because I loved it. It tells a story of great meaning. It is a dialogue between generations. Reactions were almost all positive though we had to fight to preserve our right to present it, even all the way to the US Supreme Court. Some are so affected by Hair that they come once a week like going to church. Others, like the astronauts who walked out after the flag scene, were unable to open up to the fact that 'those dirty hippies were handling the flag'. (the flag scene was vetted by a General military school friend of mine so it was according to the book) 3. What are your strongest memories about the controversy regarding the censorship issues in London in 1968? Not many, except great excitement that finally the censor was going to be put to rest. 4. Is it possible to contrast the original reactions to Hair in the UK and US? Tough question to answer. What comes to mind is in the US the Vietnam situation was acute and 1968 was year of great turmoil, Bobby, Martin, Columbia riots, Yuppies at the Democratic Convention so there was visceral reaction. While in the UK I think it was more ideological and intellectual concerning the areas of freedom. Also the UK was the fountainhead, i.e. The Beatles, the Cream and the Rolling Stones, et al. 5. Hair seems to have had a defining effect on those who were involved, and as far as I can tell everyone speaks of it not only with great fondness but also with the suggestion that their lives were indelibly changed by it. I assume this was also the case with you? Can you elaborate? Have been there been times in your life when Hair has also been a burden? Hair has had an effect on almost everyone who has been involved. Not only those on stage but back stage, off stage and in the audience. It has had a cathartic effect on so many. In my case it became the culmination of a life changing situation from a military industrial hawk to a mind altered dove. I, like many, could look forward with hope. One often wonders where Hair really came from and from whence its power. Certainly it has a spiritual power to create a great deal of love between many who have been involved. 6. Have there been any attempts to update Hair radically in the past, and did they work? No, and I don't think they ever will. Even small tinkering is in error. One of the charms of Hair is its rawness. 7. Did you see Hair at the Old Vic in the early 90s? If so, what did you think of it? I did not see it. I was told by original tribe members that it was terrible. So I avoided it. Hair should not be done by strictly commercial producers nor dominated by number crunchers. It is a work of affection and needs to be produced with TLC. I have done over 30 productions of Hair. The two which were dominated by commercial considerations did not work. The Director is critical. The reasons behind the Producer paramount. 8. When people talk to you about Hair, is there one thing they mention/remember/means more to them than anything else? When they saw Hair. Where they saw it. Who they were with. And what they were wearing. 9. What was your reaction when The Gate/Daniel first told you of their plans for a new updated version? I am not aware of any major updated versions of HAIR. 10. What sort of reaction do you hope to get from the new version? ??? 11. There are plans to have some nudity in the Gate version. Almost 40 years on, this still seems to be rather taboo on the stage, even on the fringe, and in some quarters will probably create as much moral outrage as the more extreme directly political elements. What are your thoughts on this? Nudity is an important element in Hair. It refers to 'The Emperor's Clothes'. Certainly in this era of American imperial hubris that tale bears consideration. Frankly the nudity, at the end of Act 1, is what has brought a lot of people into see Hair. Then we have them for the messages in the second act which mean so much. 14. Do you plan to come over to see it? Unfortunately I cannot. We are having a major Hair Tribal Reunion and I will be dealing with the aftermath. I do wish The Gate the very best. Thanks again for helping me with this. With good wishes, Simon Simon Garfield Senior feature writer, The Observer My best wishes, Peace and Love, Michael --Those who have experienced altered forms of consciousness, by whatever means, never forget that space in which they have been. Now that they have learned how to function within the system, it is time they act to run it. MB > |
ARTICLES
OF NOTE
"God said it. I believe it. That settles it" Iran and US - At The Abyss Life's Too Short Eminent Domain Message From London Our Larger Middle Eastern Problem What Is Really Obscene Query From Overseas Well Off and Homeless - A Paradox ARCHIVES December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005
|
