Martin Sherman

"We were real."

Absolutely brilliant. It's raw, a story both about violence and love. I also appreciate the fact that the main character has flaws, and honestly not too likeable for most of the play. But here, that's one of the things that makes it so raw and just... real. It's not necessarily about Max while at the same time being exactly about who he is. If anything, the last ten pages are incredibly powerful; raw and emotional in a way that will haunt me for a long time.

This is a classic tale by E.M. Forster about the clash of cultures in British India after the turn of the century. This book is one series of misunderstandings after another that ironically convey the feelings of people in these places at the time. The most dramatic misunderstanding of the book leads to a very harsh and dynamic climax that leads readers to really understand the repercussions of what was happening in India at the turn of the century.

At first I found E.M. Forster’s writing show more style to be very different and it took me some time to get used to the way he writes. I don’t think I can accurately describe how he does it but his topics are so to the point but still portray so much meaning and depth. Once I got used to this style, I found this book to be beautifully written and crafted with the perfect balance of humor and irony plus times of complete sadness, anger and despair. Similarly, the cast of characters in the book are all rich from the enlightening Dr. Aziz, and the naïve Adela Quested to the characters that display the most humanity: Mrs. Moore, Mr. Fielding and Professor Godbole. I can understand perfectly why this book is considered to be one of the important reads of the 20th century as it gives readers a very clear and dramatic picture of what India must have been like during British occupation.

Even though E.M. Forster claims that one can never understand India or describe what it is really like, I felt like I was able to get a very accurate portrayal through the eyes of all of the characters in this book as they all see aspects of the land, times and the native people differently. show less

I found myself caught up in the story, understanding something of what it might have been like to live through the war as someone working in a theatre, in a way I hadn’t really thought about before.

The acting is excellent, and the pace is just right.

Longer review here: https://suesdvdreviews.blogspot.com/2018/10/mrs-henderson-presents-starring-judi...

This classic play was first produced in 1979, and was an important milestone in the public’s awareness of gay issues. It follows the story of a gay man in Nazi Germany – dealing first with social oppression and then with the cruelty of a concentration camp. It’s very powerful.