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fencer_xSo, I just finished watching Switch wo Osu Toki (yes, I realize I'm horribly late XD)
I held off watching this for a while even after I got it, because I wanted to be able to dedicate my full attention to it, something I haven't been able to do of late because of work (I've still gotta watch RokkakuMyu, Treasure Box, and Hageretto @__@). Knowing what a big deal this was to Nagayan, how much it affected him, I felt it really deserved nothing less than my full attention, trying to understand it all.
As far as physically understanding the words being spoken, it wasn't a difficult play to grasp at all for me. I'd say I understood it on the level of Panic Cafe, which is one of the plays I'm most familiar with and can understand the best. This made me deliriously happy because I really wanted to understand Switch. It's one thing to hear everyone else saying what a great play it was, it's another to actually understand these great things being said yourself. Sure, everyone can get the emotion being projected by the actors, but it's different when you can pair up words and emotions, yanno?
I spent most of the play, I think, trying to determine if Nagayan's character was lying or not, if he was really good, or really bad. Was he really just a puppet, or was it an elaborate trick? The boy did a wonderful job really stringing the audience along in that respect. He made you want to love Minami one second and then just pity everyone else because of what a conniving bastard he was the next. He dominated that role, and this play, it was beautiful.
I didn't get to see Algernon, and all I've seen Nagayan in outside of dramas (which are an entirely different matter) are musicals, usually sprinkled with their fair share of comedy and seriousness (sometimes one more than the other), but this was the first time I actually felt like I got to see the real talent he keeps locked up inside that fabulous body. Such a span of emotions to portray, from heartbroken, to genki, to actually kinda creepy-crazy in a few parts o_O
The others did a great job, too, in responding to Minami. I hate myself for not remembering names, but I was really pitying the girl by the end, when throughout the play I'd been a little annoyed at her for being so blinded by the crush she had on Minami that she couldn't see his ulterior motive like all the others could. Even Aiba's character, Ryouta, who liked Minami at first eventually came to accept that he wasn't the Golden Boy he was cracked up to be.
The 360-degree theater also weirded me out at first, but I was really impressed with how they handled it and used it to their advantage (plus the little bit with Nagayan tossing Aiba the ball and telling him to make sure he caught it or the people behind him would get hit cracked me up XD).
All in all, definitely worth the investment, and I'll be happy to keep this one on my shelf for a loooong while. I only hope this paves the way for Nagayan to take on such big roles (and such different roles) in the future.
And if Tuti didn't go see that play at some point, having now seen what made it such a big deal, I think I will be very, very disappointed in him.
I held off watching this for a while even after I got it, because I wanted to be able to dedicate my full attention to it, something I haven't been able to do of late because of work (I've still gotta watch RokkakuMyu, Treasure Box, and Hageretto @__@). Knowing what a big deal this was to Nagayan, how much it affected him, I felt it really deserved nothing less than my full attention, trying to understand it all.
As far as physically understanding the words being spoken, it wasn't a difficult play to grasp at all for me. I'd say I understood it on the level of Panic Cafe, which is one of the plays I'm most familiar with and can understand the best. This made me deliriously happy because I really wanted to understand Switch. It's one thing to hear everyone else saying what a great play it was, it's another to actually understand these great things being said yourself. Sure, everyone can get the emotion being projected by the actors, but it's different when you can pair up words and emotions, yanno?
I spent most of the play, I think, trying to determine if Nagayan's character was lying or not, if he was really good, or really bad. Was he really just a puppet, or was it an elaborate trick? The boy did a wonderful job really stringing the audience along in that respect. He made you want to love Minami one second and then just pity everyone else because of what a conniving bastard he was the next. He dominated that role, and this play, it was beautiful.
I didn't get to see Algernon, and all I've seen Nagayan in outside of dramas (which are an entirely different matter) are musicals, usually sprinkled with their fair share of comedy and seriousness (sometimes one more than the other), but this was the first time I actually felt like I got to see the real talent he keeps locked up inside that fabulous body. Such a span of emotions to portray, from heartbroken, to genki, to actually kinda creepy-crazy in a few parts o_O
The others did a great job, too, in responding to Minami. I hate myself for not remembering names, but I was really pitying the girl by the end, when throughout the play I'd been a little annoyed at her for being so blinded by the crush she had on Minami that she couldn't see his ulterior motive like all the others could. Even Aiba's character, Ryouta, who liked Minami at first eventually came to accept that he wasn't the Golden Boy he was cracked up to be.
The 360-degree theater also weirded me out at first, but I was really impressed with how they handled it and used it to their advantage (plus the little bit with Nagayan tossing Aiba the ball and telling him to make sure he caught it or the people behind him would get hit cracked me up XD).
All in all, definitely worth the investment, and I'll be happy to keep this one on my shelf for a loooong while. I only hope this paves the way for Nagayan to take on such big roles (and such different roles) in the future.
And if Tuti didn't go see that play at some point, having now seen what made it such a big deal, I think I will be very, very disappointed in him.
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Date: 2007-01-04 09:13 pm (UTC)And honestly, I just wonder... Is this something he wants to do again? Because it's SO different from his other roles, and like you said he completely dominated here - really, REALLY rose to the occassion, so... I just wonder. How one goes about actively pursuing this type of role, you know? It also strikes me as the sort of thing that only comes around once in a while though. So maybe... Yeah, I don't know. Maybe he'll continue with the lighter stuff for a while, but... I would certainly think that anyone who's seen this would want to consider him for a similar role in the future. I hope so, anyway. *__*
[/rambling]
And I had the same thought about Tuti too. That if he missed this... *thwaps* ^^
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Date: 2007-01-04 10:47 pm (UTC)As a theatre nerd I loved the technical aspects of Switch as well as the acting - and the acting was phenomenal. Every one of those actors on stage were fantastic... but Nagayan still managed to outshine them all. He was AMAZING. His character changes, his facial expressions, the littlest of things made his character the one I couldn't keep my eyes off of. The lighting was used exceptionally well for Minami - the red lights as he straightened and tugged his jacket and SNEERED at the boy he was trying to coerce into hitting the Switch (I too fail at names) just made the moment so very vivid I think it'll be a long time before it leaves me.
His scary-crazy moments too were shockingly well-acted and terrifyingly realistic. I'm so glad my love for the man has been utterly justified with this play - he is one damn talented young man.
The play itself... I HAVE to own a copy of the text, even if I have to dig out my Japanese dictionary and painstakingly translate every word of it. I only wish it was translated into English so more people could enjoy it.
If just watching a play like this can have such an impact on a person, I can't imagine what acting in it must have been like. It would have had quite a profound affect... and if Tuti didn't see it and can't share that with Nagayan, I hope he at least watched the DVD
and cuddled Takashi all the way throughin an attempt to understand for Nagayan's sake./long-winded fansplurging