What a multi-sensory event my trip to the theatre has been. Strode out at 1:40pm to see the Roundabout Theatre's production of Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley directed by Kathleen Turner. The set really does set the mood for the play and the cast did a wonderful job of showing the nuances of relationships and family turmoil. The play worked well for me - I loved the interplay between the women and could relate to the laughter at the "wrong" time in telling an unfortunate piece of news to someone.
The multi-sensory nature of the theatre event came from the audience in particular those next to and near me. The man on my right twitched in an unfortunate way and the woman on my left insisted on using both her side and my side of the arm rest (sense number one-touch). Unfortunately sense number two was smell as someone near me had a flatulence problem so that odours drifted by at the strangest moments. Added to this, the woman to my left and her husband (I presume here) at interval pulled out of their baggage hard boiled eggs and cucumber pieces and cheese sticks and which they munched their way through possibly adding to the flatulence issue which continued into the second act. The third sense was taste which unfortunately those eggs impacted on. The fourth sense was sound- the woman next to me (she added many of the senses to this experience) hadn't bothered to get a hearing enhancing device and she continued to ask what was said or complain that she didn't get what they said throughout almost the entire performance. Partly because the characters had southern accents which did take a little getting used to. She then borrowed her husband's hearing piece (as he had got a hearing enhancing device) and at one stage said loudly "Did you get that?" as one might do when wearing headphones. However the piece de resistance was when some one near the back of the theatre sneezed fairly quietly and blow me down some one else said loudly "Bless you". I've been waiting for that to happen again somewhere inappropriate but wished it hadn't been in the theatre!
The seeing sense was not just the play, costumes and set but the sight of people leaving a good 15 minutes before the end of the play and one person going to the bathroom (again I presume) about 10 minutes in to the play.
All in all a multi-sensory event capped off by the walk home through the driving snow and rain which has now as suddenly stopped.
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