Character: Tilden |
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"Buried Child"
By Alan Bird/ London Theatre
Alienation seems the only adequate word to describe Sam Shepard’s work. In ‘Buried Child’ his characters are condemned by their past to live a life without hope- their dismal future only existing as a place to conceal what has gone before...
Reviews
When Vince brings his girlfriend, Shelly, home to meet his family, she is at first charmed by the "normal" looking farm house which she compares to a "Norman Rockwell cover or something"--that's before she actually meets his crazy family--his ranting, alcoholic grandparents and their two sons: Tilden, a hulking semi-idiot, and Bradley, who has lost one leg to a chain saw.
Strangely, no one seems to remember Vince at first, and they treat him as an intruder. Eventually, however, they seem to accept him as a part of their violently dysfunctional family. Gradually, the family's dark secret begins to come clear.
A National Theatre Education booklet can be found on the National Theatre's website.
Photos
"Thrills, chills and comedy"
By Charles Spencer/The Telegraph
Brendan Coyle is deeply touching as the bewildered giant that is Tilden...