I went to see Scenes From An Execution about a week ago. It stars Fiona Shaw, who is known to most for her role as Aunt Petunia in the Harry Potter movies, but who is also incredibly famous for her work in theatre. She is one of my favorite actresses, and it was a treat to get to watch her on stage. I saw the show in preview, which was also very interesting, as I've never seen a preview before. It's not much different, and given that it's not a new script there isn't much likelihood of anything being changed, but it was a good experience nonetheless. The show itself was great. It centers on a 50-60 year old artist who has been commissioned to paint a picture of a great war victory for a Venetian doge. But as she goes around talking to soldiers who were in the war, they tell her about bloodshed and fear, not glory and honor. So she paint a horrific scene of gore and death and ends up getting thrown in jail for blasphemy and so on.
The script is well written. But Shaw just made the show. She is probably the most honest actress I have ever seen. That's the big thing they tell us at school: "act honestly. With honest emotions and reactions. Don't fake it." She did so brilliantly. Additionally, the script calls for her character to wander around stage without a top or bra on at one point during the first scene. So the whole audience got to see a little more of Fiona Shaw than we otherwise might have wanted to. But it truly worked so well for the character and the show that it wasn't distracting. Which is even more proof of Shaw's skill; she had such a great presence that it just became another aspect of the show, which isn't easy when it comes to on-stage nudity.
Because it was a preview, the cast had a meeting post-show, so I didn't get a chance to meet her at the stage door. The show runs for awhile yet, so I might go back some night when I know the show will be over and just wait for her at the door. Hopefully it'll work!
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