Transient master piece, or re-heated lasagna?

It doesn’t matter if it’s a certain album that holds your attention for months, or a favourite series of TV that you must have the box set for in case of a rainy day – it seems there are some things you are compelled to see again and again. There are books I own which are creased and re read until they are well worn and wrinkled and there are DVD’s which I can’t seem to get enough of.

These things are to art what soup or bangers and mash are to food – comfort! I used to think that something had to be truly great to stay in your memory and affections over a long period of time and be enduring enough to be put through viewing after viewing, but I’m not sure that’s true anymore. When I think about some of the things love to watch or read again and again, I don’t think the entire list is made up of classics, epics or milestones from the world’s greatest minds. To be honest, there are actually some quite embarrassing things on there which other people might not even sit through once before changing channel or picking up another book.

Therefore, I am led to believe it is all about swings and roundabouts and different strokes for different folks. There must be some kind of mysterious power, element of taste or connection we have with certain things that give them a longevity with us and compel us to hoard or collect them for moments where we’re bored or a little blue.

I began thinking about this when I saw Deborah Warner and Fiona Shaw’s production of T.S Eliot’s The Wasteland at Wilton’s Music Hall last weekend. I was working as an usher and so ended up catching the performance three times in one day. At first it confused me, then it intrigued me and the third time it completely captivated me and left me wanting to persuade the company to keep the run going for another week. Besides, the theatre was to be overtaken the next day by Barbara Windsor’s new game show, something I’m sure we can all do without. I wondered whether it was the feeling of being in the right place at the right time; seeing a revival of a famous production during a limited run; feeling young and excited about seeing a great performer deliver a great text in an unforgettable venue.

Although I was obliged to watch the 40 minute show three times, I felt like I could have paid to watch it dozens more to soak up everything it had to offer. Perhaps it was because it was a masterpiece by a man recognised as a genius – although, it didn’t impress the queen mother who described Eliot as a ‘very strange man who came to the palace to read me a poem called ‘the desert.’ Although I was thrilled by it, some others seemed less impressed and bored by the prospect of having to watch the show multiple times.

So I finish with a question – what gives something it’s longevity, as there seems to be no golden rule which can make a piece of art last for ever for absolutely every viewer. What for you makes something stick and what indeed, are the things that are on your list of necessities for revisiting, re-watching or re reading?

This post was written by Peter Reed, our International Liaison.