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Ignoramus: A play
63 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
James Reaney
70 books2 followersJames Crerar Reaney, OC FRSC was a Canadian poet, playwright, librettist, and professor. Reaney won Canada's highest literary award, the Governor General's Award, three times and received the Governor General's Award for Poetry or Drama for both his poetry and his drama.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 9, 2022
I actually came across a physical copy of the play at a local used bookstore and bought it on a whim as I thought it’d be fun to read something new. I wasn’t wrong!
This is the first play I’ve read (outside of the classics you are required to read in high school) and it was definitely an interesting and memorable choice to have christened it as my first. I should add that the book is in fact a farcical children’s play which added another layer to my reading experience.
I don’t currently see any summary for this play so I will provide a brief one: Two professors, Dr. Hilda History and Dr. Charles Progressaurus raise a group of orphans each in a competition, instituting what they believe is to be the “right” way to educate children. The play includes various scenes in which the professors teach the children a number of different subjects (geography, french, chemistry, etc).
I don’t think it’s fair of me to judge or critique the play too much as I’m not an expert and this is the first one I’ve read but I will point out that the script was definitely bizarre. Upon doing some elementary research about James Reaney, I discovered he was also widely-known in Canada for his poetry. This understanding made me better appreciate the rationale behind the sporadic placement of lines that are spaced out on the page in unconventional indentations. It helped me picture the intentionally (and frequently) disordered scenes.
There are some references to Canada (as Reaney is from Ontario himself) which made it enjoyable for me because I was able to gain the satisfaction of understanding at least something that was going on in such a peculiar play.
Overall, my initial reaction was that I didn’t like the play that much. But thinking about it more, it grew on me and I surprisingly enjoyed it. It was fun and offbeat and makes me appreciate the impact of farce in storytelling. I imagine it’s the equivalent of spontaneously going with a friend to an underground comedy show that you’ve never heard of before, with an unorthodox and eccentric performance that you walk out of thinking is weird but becomes a sentimental, “Remember that time…” moment.
I don’t think this play is the best one I’d recommend as the gateway into more plays but it made my experience memorable. It in fact has me excited to read some others now though!
Now if only there was a way to see this play performed! I’d definitely go see it.
This is the first play I’ve read (outside of the classics you are required to read in high school) and it was definitely an interesting and memorable choice to have christened it as my first. I should add that the book is in fact a farcical children’s play which added another layer to my reading experience.
I don’t currently see any summary for this play so I will provide a brief one: Two professors, Dr. Hilda History and Dr. Charles Progressaurus raise a group of orphans each in a competition, instituting what they believe is to be the “right” way to educate children. The play includes various scenes in which the professors teach the children a number of different subjects (geography, french, chemistry, etc).
I don’t think it’s fair of me to judge or critique the play too much as I’m not an expert and this is the first one I’ve read but I will point out that the script was definitely bizarre. Upon doing some elementary research about James Reaney, I discovered he was also widely-known in Canada for his poetry. This understanding made me better appreciate the rationale behind the sporadic placement of lines that are spaced out on the page in unconventional indentations. It helped me picture the intentionally (and frequently) disordered scenes.
There are some references to Canada (as Reaney is from Ontario himself) which made it enjoyable for me because I was able to gain the satisfaction of understanding at least something that was going on in such a peculiar play.
Overall, my initial reaction was that I didn’t like the play that much. But thinking about it more, it grew on me and I surprisingly enjoyed it. It was fun and offbeat and makes me appreciate the impact of farce in storytelling. I imagine it’s the equivalent of spontaneously going with a friend to an underground comedy show that you’ve never heard of before, with an unorthodox and eccentric performance that you walk out of thinking is weird but becomes a sentimental, “Remember that time…” moment.
I don’t think this play is the best one I’d recommend as the gateway into more plays but it made my experience memorable. It in fact has me excited to read some others now though!
Now if only there was a way to see this play performed! I’d definitely go see it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review