The scene set evokes a temple or rather the very heart of a temple. And it is indeed, as the scene transforms itself along the play from Dr. Dysart’s office into the stable and  – for a short time – into the cinema place, these three places being in fact temples to the psychiatrist, Alan and his father. The play starts with Dr. Dysart’s thoughts and brief introduction into the Alan’s case. Richard Griffiths, I must say, does a marvelous job. You make no connection whatsoever with any other characters that you might have seen him playing. He’s just the psychiatrist who takes an awakening journey from the moment that he accepts to treat Alan Strang. And while Richard Burton’s performance in the same part has been strong and vibrant (but when has Burton not been strong and vibrant?), Richard Griffiths gives the character a new personality, a lot more on the philosophical side. Dr. Dysart is not torn, but distressed at the realization that he let passion slip away from his life and, most of all, that he resigned to it. He starts questioning himself, his life, his almost-dead marriage and his whole purpose as he perceives the intensity of Alan’s feelings.

And that intensity is beautifully conveyed by Daniel Radcliffe’s act. I must confess that I had expected to be reminded of the Harry Potter part at least at times during the play. To my surprise it never happened. I haven’t thought of Alan as the character who is played by the guy who played the famous wizard, but only Alan, an anguished teenager who sees the values of his world turn to dust and that very world turned upside down, mostly like Dickens’ Pip. Many have interpreted the stable blinding scene as a fall from Paradise. In some regards, I do agree. However, in my opinion, Alan doesn’t fall from the biblical paradise, but from that of childhood and innocence. He is a Peter Pan that has been forced to leave his Neverland by the revelation that his father was, in fact, “just a poor old sod on his own”, doing his own secret “thing” just like Alan did and that his mother was a prude. In the most talked about naked scene in the play Alan bares himself completely, his soul as well as his body. He shares his revelations and pain with Dr. Dysart, who, in his turn fears the future lack of pain or passion in Alan’s life once he has been “healed”, once this false society and its rigors tamed him. I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with Radcliffe’s performance. Although he is a very young actor and perhaps(and hopefully) oh-so-blissfully-unaware yet of the many types of anguish that life can provide, the part fits him and his youth like a glove. I believe that if he managed to keep at least part of the audience entrapped inside the universe of the play for the whole two acts as I was, then he has already achieved a lot. The intensity that he gives to the character proves by all means that he has so much more to give on stage than just playing the part of a teenage wizard and I expect we’ll hear and see more great performances from him in the years to come.

I left the theater with the distinct feeling that I can and I should do everything that I long to do. It’s not very often that one encounters such inspired and inspirational performances. And as I headed outside I saw the after-theater show: the fans waiting at around 15 degrees Fahrenheit for an autograph, a picture or just a glimpse of their idol. And perhaps for many it is hard to understand, even for me it is most of the time – for I’d rather keep my food for the mind unaltered by the mundane mere minutes after the show. Yet, in a way it makes sense as perhaps, for them, that is their cherished stable.

Who are you laughing on my sky?
I forgot where you rise.
Maybe you aren’t a star and I
Just saw the light through your eyes.

With the heart torn and your hand tense
You said “thee” to me, but I
Was already flying for a long while
And you were only hearing your cry.

I don’t wish to watch you again
As my eyes asleep for you are.
I’d rather stay like this, burning,
And wait for the next star.

I figured that this year my tree will be gold and red, so I bought these for starters:

naming the things that I wish for.

So, you see, I am a good girl, Santa. Please bring me someone to

The first kind are the ones who dream and fight for their dreams.With the good and bad, with their ups and downs, they fall and they stand tall again, remembering each time what they are looking for.

The second kind are the ones who had a dream, but somehow along the way they settled for a “half-dream” or “the next best thing”, as somebody told me long ago. And because a half-dream is never equivalent to a proper, full rendered dream, they crave illusions. And when they meet one, they take it as a granted property, a given, something that is meant to fill that gap in their half-happy life. What is an illusion? Well, an illusion is somehow the same as a dream. Somehow the same. The difference is that an illusion will never become your full time dream for several reasons.
First reason would be that no matter how exciting an illusion might be, a half-dream is far more real because it’s right next to you.
The second reason is fear. Of the unknown. With an illusion they would have to start all over again, from the first steps, from the very first gestures and build again everything from scratch. And what if they lose? What if their illusion will turn out being not more than the current half-dream? Imagine the disappointment of someone who treasures more the destination than the road to it.
The third reason would be possession. Because they own the illusion, because it’s meant to be there for them whenever and only when they need it. So there is no real point in transforming it into something more demanding, more challenging and life changing.

You might say that the illusions and the half-dreams might be two different kinds of their own. Well, no. You see, illusions and half-dreams can have dreams themselves. And they can become somebody’s whole dream someday.

And that’s what I dream of. That someday I’ll be someone’s full time dream. And that he’ll be my breath-taking, earth-shaking, heart-flying whole dream.

1. My love for the web started through IRC, some 7 years ago. Yes, I’m still addicted to IRC. In fact I met a few of my real life friends through IRC. Then about 6 years ago I discovered Dreamweaver and started learning html, then javascript, then I turned to css.
Now I’m much worse:)

2. I love the smell of strawberries and fresh made coffee in the morning.

3. I used to play piano when I was in primary school. I gave it up after four years as I understood I wasn’t the best pianist out there. But it helped me a lot broadening my taste in music. I also attended 1 year of Law School. I gave it up for the same reason, I wouldn’t have been the best lawyer out there. But then again, it helped me broaden my taste in politics:)

4. My other passion beside coding is American literature, in which I have a BA degree. Funny thing how after 1 year of Law School and 4 years of intense study of literature I ended up loving coding.

5. I love New York for it is the most awakening experience for me (until now at least). It made me realize how many things I have yet to learn, do and see.

Oops, almost forgot I think I should “trick” other people into sharing 5 of their secrets. So Joshua Jenkins, Lostinbeta: you’re next:) And soulty, simp and Digitalosophy, get a blog guys and start writing:P