I’m trying to find out the name of a play that I saw on TV about two or three years ago in the UK.
It was a re-showing of a much older performance. The original may have been made for TV or it could have been a filmed performance of something that was originally a stage play.
The setting was a ‘civilised’ party with the hosts and with guests that arrived and interacted.
I would say it was set in the 1960s – in an apartment or house with contemporary furniture – an aspiring middle class setting.
It maybe had an American feel to it – like it was set in the USA – modern apartment – maybe not.
From memory, the whole play may have been silent – as in no spoken words – just gestures and expressions or perhaps the characters mouthed words.
We get to see into the psychology of the individuals – jealousy, fear, arrogance, disappointment – all of it under a veneer of civility.
The way people moved around in it, it was almost like a ballet – the whole thing was very styled and unnatural, yet insightful and realistic about the inner workings of how people interact.
It was almost balletic, very mannered – the way people turned and gestured and took their coats off and offered and accepted drinks – and through all that, the real inner cruelties, jealousies and disappointments were visible – attempted to be hidden but seen by us the audience – and sometimes by the other characters.
I asked what play was that, on Metafilter, but no one knew.
If you know the name of the play, let me know.