Ian Watt & Crosswords Productions presents
Performed by Ian Watt and directed by Tomek Borkowy
Hollywood - a world of ridiculous and decadent excesses - big cars, big stars and bigger egos!
This biting portrait of Hollywood’s Golden Age explores the line between reality and fantasy, exposing politics of power and shallowness of relationships in a roll call of movie greats. With lots of laughs, it de-bunks the sparkle and spine surrounding the movie business.
Deranged director Posterkrantz, calling the shots (“Zer vill be hell to pay”) in a dreamworld of his own creation slipping from hall-of-fame to has-been.
“A high octane performance from Ian Watt.”
“Ian Watt produces a tremendous performance as the off tilt director Posterkrantz. […] Watt oozes energy and class to create an immensely watchable and distinct character. […]The director Tomek Borkowy’s clever use of period music, early movie footage and canned laughter heighten Posterkrantz's twisted world. Borkowy keeps the pace of the play at its maximum with subtle lighting changes that with intelligent direction aid in blurring the line between reality and fantasy.”
“Watt as Posterkrantz is terrifyingly terrific. […] The atmosphere throughout is utterly claustrophobic, making you feel like an extra trapped in one of Posterkrantz's nightmarish creations.”
Posterkrantz seems to be based on Erich von Stroheim. Born Erich Stroheim in Vienna, Austria in 1885, to Jewish family. He emigrated to America in 1909, and in 1914 joined D.W. Griffith's ensemble as a bit player and an assistant director. As America entered World War I, Stroheim added ‘Von’ to his name and assumed the film persona of a monocled Hun officer culminating in portraying Field Marshall Rommel in ‘Five Graves to Cairo’ (1943). Von Stroheim’s true passion was directing. He was a perfectionist with a passion for minor details and a love for material considered risqué. He would also like to produce extremely lengthy pictures (for example, 1924's Greed, which in its original cut ran over 9 hours before it was re-edited by the studio to 140 minutes). The studio moguls stopped financing his projects and he went back to acting. He died in 1957.
CUT! has been performed, with equal effect, in theatre spaces ranging from 60 to 350 seats. It employs minimal set and lighting.
| Running time |
1hr (no interval) |
| Number in Company |
1 Actor, 1 Stage Manager |
| Lighting |
7 x 650w profiles |
| Sound |
Sound system to play pre-recorded CD music and sound cues |
| Projection |
Digital projector and DVD player (PAL Region 2 - Europe) for projection onto canvass backdrop |
| Set |
3 flats (900widex2000high) for “Hollywood” canvass backdrop,
1 raised plinth (900x 650mm approx. 50mm high), 1 old style hand
crank camera on tripod, 1no. full body standing figure dressed as
1920’s camera man (padded to allow being thrown) & stand,
1 director’s chair in blue canvass,1no. props trunk |
| Props |
1 director’s loud hailer (extra large), 5no. metal film reel cases,
1 head & torso figure, 1 poncho, 1 Sombrero, 1no. replica colt 45 & holster (no need to fire), 1no. acoustic guitar (traditional shape & playable) |
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