#catbomber

Oh my goodness I have never heard of this complaint before?  I honestly had no idea that this was a problem people have with Trunchbull.  So, obviously, I disagree.  Having a man play her is not any sort of attack.  She’s played by a man simply because it is practical for the type of stunts the character has to do during the show, and for the sake of having three understudies.  Of course there are women out there who are built taller and broader, and I personally would love to see the show bring in a woman to play Trunchbull at some point.  But the fact is that most women who go into theatre would not be able to perform Trunchbull’s stunts, so as a result she is played by a man.  And I don’t see anything wrong with that.

I also don’t see anything wrong with what Bertie said.  I don’t know the context of it, but that statement on its own sounds like the sort of thing any actor would wonder about his or her character.  Delving deep into who that character is involves thinking about what it would be like to wake up as that person, what their routine would be, how they prepare themselves to face the world.  Agatha is a very compelling character in this sense, because how does she prepare herself to face the world?  Is she always so hard and exaggerated and unforgiving, or does she herself put on a character when she puts on her clothes?  Does she act the same way towards people outside of school as she does in school?  What is she like on her own, when nobody is watching and she doesn’t have to keep up appearances?

One thing I loved about Bertie was how he always seemed fully aware of the fact that he was playing a woman, and he didn’t go for any of the shallow, cheap jokes that can come along with a man playing a woman.  He didn’t act like a ham or make any exaggeratedly “feminine” movements or gestures.  Sure, the scene where Trunchbull comes out wearing a short skirt gets laughs, but that’s because of the way the costume was designed, not the way Bertie behaved while wearing it.  He respected her in a way some male actors don’t respect the female characters they play, and that respect and his dedication to playing her properly was what made his portrayal so enjoyable.  It would have been easy for him to turn her into a joke, but he never once did that.

I think the respect Bertie had for Agatha also shows that his portrayal of her was never meant to be an attack or any sort of statement in regards to gender at all.  I also think that the show itself would never want the character interpreted in that way, since they’ve been so careful to hire men who won’t go for cheap laughs or make a huge deal out of the fact that they’re playing a woman.  Chris Hoch has also been flawless in this regard, as he’s completely in control of his actions and is always aware that Agatha is a woman and he needs to respect her in order to play her properly.

ooooooo I looooooooove Shepherds. So beautiful.

David Tennant and his hair on new show on BBC America tonight just sayin girlfriend.