tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post631295776517281729..comments2024-01-07T06:59:04.212-05:00Comments on The Playgoer: Hytner's RNTPlaygoerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-59334324087966479562007-10-18T15:10:00.000-04:002007-10-18T15:10:00.000-04:00Fair point, anon. Indeed, us young 'uns can all t...Fair point, anon. Indeed, us young 'uns can all to easily slip into age-ism and forget how decimated our theatres would be without the incredibly loyal support of our senior fellow attendees. And whenever whiter-haired ones DON"t walk out of a rude & crude new play, I'm so impressed! Of course, nothing they haven't seen before having probably sat through Shepard, Living Theatre, and Hair at their peak.<BR/><BR/>(Yes, some of those greybeards may be former hippies!)<BR/><BR/>I think we can agree, though, that at least some of the upper age bracket is more conservative, at least aesthetically conservative.<BR/><BR/>Plus, where the ageism comes from is a desire for younger audiences to--for once--have a theatre experience that's not like going with your grandparents. That can be nice, too. But the generation under 40 will never be able to claim a tradition of their own unless they can bond over that amongst themselves. At least once in a while.<BR/><BR/>And while the audience should always ideally be "mixed", think about comedy, for a second, and how much a hipper comedy, like Gone Missing or Pig Farm depends on a younger audience to even "seem" funny. With only half (or less) the house laughing, the scent of discouraging failure sets in fast.Playgoerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-85022229976854515672007-10-18T14:01:00.000-04:002007-10-18T14:01:00.000-04:00There is an abundance of grey hair bashing going o...There is an abundance of grey hair bashing going on. I remind readers that without these grey hairs there would hardly be any institutional theatre in NY and in most regions. (I fear a number of your misguided readers would welcome the demise.) <BR/><BR/>This is the last of a generation that grew up with a habit of theatregoing and the belief that it was a responsibility to not only attend but to write checks at least once or twice a year. They have actually heard of Samuel Beckett and know that a Restoration comedy is not a reality show gone bad. They are not socially conservative and they are more than welcome at my theatre.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com