Act Without Words II (2001 TV Short) User Reviews

weak

[dbborroughs · 3/10 · 23 January 2010]

Done in the style of a strip of movie film turned on its side (the play calls for it to be on a long platform. A man gets out of a bag goes through his daily routine which includes carrying a bag a certain distance. He then gets back in his bag at which pint a second man gets out the second bag and goes through a similar routine, before getting back in his bag. As the first man comes out again the screen goes black.

Very weak play I'm guessing about the monotony of life. Alternately it could be about how different people do the same thing. Either way, or any way I really didn't much care for this at all. In my humble opinion its on of Beckett's least works.

Two distinct personalities.... same existence

[cruelmo · 8/10 · 3 September 2003]

Possible spoilers.... as is the case with ANY Beckett review! Beckett's play "Act Without Words II", while of course being related to "Act Without Words I" in some respects, is an entirely different play, in that there are now TWO mimes. In this second installment, the surroundings have been all but eliminated, and all attention is paid solely to the mime. The two mimes lead extraordinarily different existances.... one extremely somber, that mood aided with the slow and deadpan piano piece, the other extremely upbeat, again, with a fast and melodic piano medley. The former seems sluggish, as if it is a pain to simply exist, where the latter is ridiculously upbeat and organized, so much so that he must check his clock every few seconds... the ultimate point of this play, as it has been interpreted by ME, is that in the end, we all end up the same, regardless of whether or not we were sad, boring, time-oblivious carrot munchers, or immensely anxious, exciting, time-conscious spastics. Having not seen the play live, I can only comment on the film. The 'prod' was an interesting touch, acting almost as an on-screen director. Anyhow, it was a very short film, I believe under 20 minutes, and very interesting, and so it gets 8/10.