”He had been then, and always, essentially a spectator, a humorous, detached observer of the immense, muddled variety show of life, slipping out of his seat now and then for a brief dip into the convivialities at the back of the house, but never as far as one knew showing the least desire to jump on the stage, and do a turn.
--Edith Wharton, “The Eyes”
A classic haunting, in polite society.
One of SELECTED SHORTS most cherished touring venues is The Mount, Edith Wharton’s gracious home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. And just as she used to host such luminaries as Henry James, coaxing him to read aloud, so she has created, in “The Eyes,” a story within a story. A group of gentlemen has just finished telling ghost stories for their own amusement when their host irrevocably alters things with a personal narrative both gripping and grotesque.
Host Isaiah Sheffer calls reader Charles Keating “a master of the macabre,” and it is apt that he starred in a short-lived television series called Going to Extremes . Keating played Rex in the celebrated adaptation of Brideshead Revisited, and had two seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other theatre credits include >em>What the Butler Saw, A Man for All Seasons and Pygmalion. Keating spoke with us from his home in Connecticut about what has shaped his approach to drama and language, and how he came to grips with Wharton’s densely layered work.
“The Eyes,” by Edith Wharton, read by Charles Keating.
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space
--Edith Wharton, “The Eyes”
A classic haunting, in polite society.
One of SELECTED SHORTS most cherished touring venues is The Mount, Edith Wharton’s gracious home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. And just as she used to host such luminaries as Henry James, coaxing him to read aloud, so she has created, in “The Eyes,” a story within a story. A group of gentlemen has just finished telling ghost stories for their own amusement when their host irrevocably alters things with a personal narrative both gripping and grotesque.
Host Isaiah Sheffer calls reader Charles Keating “a master of the macabre,” and it is apt that he starred in a short-lived television series called Going to Extremes . Keating played Rex in the celebrated adaptation of Brideshead Revisited, and had two seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other theatre credits include >em>What the Butler Saw, A Man for All Seasons and Pygmalion. Keating spoke with us from his home in Connecticut about what has shaped his approach to drama and language, and how he came to grips with Wharton’s densely layered work.
“The Eyes,” by Edith Wharton, read by Charles Keating.
For additional works featured on SELECTED SHORTS, please visit Symphony Space
About Selected Shorts
Selected Shorts features some of the finest artists of the American theater reading contemporary and classic short fiction-the most distinguished works of the early masters such as Chekhov, Maupassant, Malamud and dozens of others.
To listen to this program, and other recent programs, subscribe to the Selected Shorts podcast
Hosted by Isaiah Sheffer
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