In Der Theater dem Westens, the very same theatre where the kaiser sat, and Hitler too, there is being performed each night a play about peace and reconciliation, and about the pity of war too.
Thus O'Casey's legacy and his fame would rest largely on four plays, put on over five years; plays that seem over 80 years later to be immensely powerful dramatic statements about the pity of war, whose characters continue to attract great Irish actors and large audiences.
And before we get too excited about the pity party we now get to throw for ourselves, I want to stop and look at the word "comfort".
Make it interesting, for example, " boy-meets-girl-and-they-hate-each-other-until-boy-sees-girl-getting-drunk-and crazy-at-a-party-and-takes-her-on-a-pity-date-and-she-finds-out-about-the-pity-part" Yes, it's a long scenario, but it's much more complex.
The historian Ayesha Jalal, (who is Manto's grand-niece) wrote in her book about him, The Pity of Partition: "Whether he was writing about prostitutes, pimps or criminals, Manto wanted to impress upon his readers that these disreputable people were also human, much more than those who cloaked their failings in a thick veil of hypocrisy".
"The story was too realistic, and said nothing about the conflict other than what many other films had said, about war and the pity of war," Mr. Jordan, who also directed "Michael Collins," wrote in an e-mail.
As a reluctant interviewee following the furore over Blasted, she told her interrogator that Blasted was, for her, 'quite a peaceful play about hope.' The pity is that she could find none for herself.
(A veteran film booker told me that in the '80s, one Paramount executive had a sign on his door that read, "Don't ask me about 'White Dog.' ") The pity of this is that "White Dog" is a profoundly antiracist film, though a despairing one.
"What is the pity about the sport, that a lot of money is being able to be made outside of what's happening on the court," she said.
By not centering on the victims, Mr. Khalfoun nearly makes the film about pitying the panic-prone killer; the camerawork lacks the ominous, confident glide of much Steadicam horror.
Great work, I thought at the time, pity about all the misogyny.
