Geoffrey Rush in Diary of a Madman

I went on Saturday afternoon to see the Brooklyn Academy of Arts matinee with Geoffrey Rush. Of course he played brilliantly. But I wanted to see more. The character was one-dimensional, for the most part: a person going crazy. It did not make use of Rush's talents, to go in there and make use of various thoughts and emotions to produce a subtle, multi-dimensional view of his character, as he and Colin Firth did of their characters in King's Speech. The New York Times editor said that he never gave us a glimpse into the mad man's head. I
agree that he did not,as much as spewing forth what was on the edge of his thoughts. I'd like to see more of his past or the subtle subconscious thoughts and elements of which the character is not even aware. However, his two-hour monologue (basically) attests to his mastery of acting.

There were I think two other actresses, one playing a maid and a crazy woman. Her Finnish speaking (I am not sure if it is made up), was hilarious. I wanted to see more acting from them. The set was sparse and "crazy", but I love to see different stage sets. I loved the music. Two musicians, playing on various instruments such as guitar, drums and bells, showed the main character's disharmonious thoughts. It was at times riveting and hilarious. We can all relate, I am sure.