I've been meaning to sit down and watch the DVD I bought a little while back of Sondheim's show Passion, but just haven't found the time somehow. When we were in KL it was Sunday In The Park With George that made it to the player, partly because since Karen had been kind enough to lend it I felt a certain moral obligation to watch. Also the fact I knew the show well from my CD didn't hurt. It helps to have some enthusiasm for viewing something I find when you have as little enthusiasm for watching anything on telly as I have.
Unfortunately Sondheim's own comments on Passion from Look, I Made A Hat haven't stoked any great enthusiasm in me for watching it. He makes the whole concept sound, well, difficult. I've never been that keen on obsessive love as a theme, and the notion of a terribly unattractive young lady sort of stalking a very good looking man as the centre of the plot of a musical just doesn't do anything for me.
But, then, this is Sondheim so there's a level of trust that you're going to get something worth your time and attention. It was with this thought in mind that I had a look at the first part of the show earlier today. I knew I wouldn't have time for the whole thing, but I was curious to watch at least something of it. And what I saw was impressive, but a touch forbidding. It wasn't easy to relate to the story. But there was a fascination in the challenge being set and a reminder that it's not always a good thing to be comfortable with the stories you are told. In fact, quite possibly it's simply never a good thing, which might account for the sense of emptiness I experience watching most modern films. They are designed to appeal to their audiences after all, above all. This wasn't.
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