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Critical Reading 2 Review

Bruce Barton’s article on Navigating Turbulence: The Dramaturg in Physical Theatre written in March 2005, found in Theatre Topics, Volume 15, Number 1.

Barton’s article is a very informative piece of writing that focuses on the various definitions of ‘dramaturgy’. He attempts to explore which is the most accurate and look into subsections of dramaturgy such as development dramaturgy. He then goes on to discuss the “general context of inquiry” by considering Canadian Theatre. Barton has presented his points very well by using technical language with clear and concise arguments. He also makes sure he is constantly referring to his original point and gives sufficient evidence to support it. He doesn’t waffle or stray along a tangent which makes the article a very interesting read and doesn’t bore. The information Barton provides is collected from various sources which is referenced in his work. From investigating these sources, I have come to the conclusion that they are reliable which leads me to believe that Barton has researched these and is delivering the information in a respectful and appropriate manner, thus allowing me to put my faith in the facts.

I believe that because the language is so specific and precise, Barton’s target audience is academics rather than the general public. This article has the potential to be of use to an academic if they were writing a dissertation, learning and researching ‘dramaturgy’, or even searching for thoughts of other playwrights and academics, which Barton mentions throughout the article. He speaks of Eugenio Barba, Elliot Hayes and Canadian theatre troupe, ‘Number Eleven’.

Despite Barton’s writing being well thought out and informative, I believe there are some minor faults with this article. One of these faults being the difficulty of accessing the article itself. When looking for this article, I realised that I could only access the first page, which was just the preview. I then did more research and discovered that even though I thoroughly scourad for the remainder of the article, there was no way of accessing it. As a result, I believe that academics may bypass his work because they are unable to see the main content of it. Another flaw of Barton’s work is that because of the stimulating and knowledgeable language used, Barton is limiting his audience to just academics who will be able to understand what he is saying.

In conclusion, I felt it was an engaging and interesting approach on the term ‘dramaturgy’, however quite difficult to fully understand without the complete text.

(3 stars)

Bibliography Barton, B March 2005, Page 103, Navigating Turbulence: The Dramaturg in Physical Theatre Available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/180828/summary

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Bibliography

Image 1 Available at: http://thisweeklondon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/thefutureofsex.jpg

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Critical Reading 1 Review

Connie Strides review on the Wardrobe Ensemble’s 1972: The Future of Sex, written on 17th April, 2016 was a very clear and detailed piece of writing. She has a distinct comprehension of the play that she discusses to a high standard. Strides gives a small insight to the play’s plot, however being careful not to completely give the plot away, so as she doesn’t ruin the ending for viewers. I like as well, how she gives credit to the actors by naming them and mentioning the roles they play. I feel this is very respectful of her and enables her readers to do research on the actors or characters before seeing the show if they so wished. Strides also wrote her opinion on the play which makes the review more relaxing to read. The reader gets a sense of how an outside source experiences the play which helps them decide whether to see it themselves.

Strides’ review is thorough and detailed which means it is a useful piece of writing which could be beneficial to someone, such as myself, to work from if they were to create an academic piece such as a review or dissertation. An academic could very easily work from Strides’ points and evolve or adapt them into their own. Strides work could also be seen as useful to actors, playwrights or even directors. This is due to the amount of detail she provides and her given opinion. If any of these previously listed people read Strides’ review, they may pick up on aspects of the performance which they believe could work well for their future roles, scripts etc. They could well use this to enhance their own work and make it more successful.

Strides review is very engaging and well written, however there are some points she has failed to mention which could have made her review more reliable. She briefly speaks of the set, however this is the only design element mentioned throughout. To make her piece more thorough, she should have included what lighting, sound, staging and props that were used and how they were effective. I have previously stated that Strides included her personal opinion which is very useful in a review, however to make her writing that slight bit more reliable, she could have gone into more detail and given her opinion more.

Overall, I feel Strides produced a significant piece of writing that has the potential to be very beneficial to the reader.

(4 stars)

Bibliography Strides, C April, 2016 Review: 1972: The Future of Sex Available at: http://www.ayoungertheatre.com/review-1972-the-future-of-sex/

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Bibliography

Image 1 Available at: http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/system/images/31553/standard/terriblethings_jorgelizalde_1.jpg?1475749547

Image 2 Available at: http://www.asiw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CAN8900-1.jpg

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The Terrible Things I’ve Done Review (Design Elements)

Invisible Ink’s original production of The Terrible Things I’ve Done is a compelling performance made up of collected true stories of the ‘terrible things’ that members of the public have willingly shared with the company.

Invisible Ink’s production of anonymous real life regrets provokes a variety of different emotions from the audience. At points, director Sita Calvert-Ennals has one of her actors crushing and throwing cupcakes, making the piece light-hearted and comical, but this can suddenly switch to heart wrenching when one character talks of how he regrets yelling at his mother for the unsatisfactory party she planned despite her best efforts, thus embarrassing him in front of his friends.

Calvert-Ennals used a non-naturalistic set that proved effective throughout the performance. The set consisted of a collection of different wooden blocks, some painted white, that were all different shapes. Director Calvert-Ennals used these to her advantage to make the performance more aesthetically interesting for the viewer to watch. She linked the blocks together to create objects such as a table, chair etc. This was achieved through the use of symbolisation.

Invisible Ink used very minimal lighting which consisted of a white light covering the whole stage. I thought this was the best choice for the performance because it would have been unnecessary to have a mass amount of lighting which could have potentially distracted the audience and taken attention away from their performance. They also used sections of the set as a form of lighting. Some of the wooden boxes creating the set I previously mentioned, had coloured acrylic sheets on one of the sides with a bulb inside which they used by placing the block behind an actor delivering a monologue. This enabled the audience to clearly identify where their attention should be, stopping their focus drifting to other sections of the stage during the performance.

These design elements were creative and original which made the performance very engaging when used appropriately. Unfortunately, I feel the set may have been too complicated to piece together which meant it took up time to do so. This made the flow of the performance deteriorate. However, the lighting was used appropriately and effectively.

(3 stars)

Bibliography

The terrible things I’ve done (2012) Available at: http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/terriblethings.html

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Endgame Review

Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett’s Endgame was first performed in 1958. It’s style of writing is associated with the Theatre of Absurd and is written in Beckett’s main trait of raw minimalism. Endgame is said to be Beckett’s greatest piece of work.

It is a confusing piece which leaves the interpretation of the plot in the hands of the audience. It focuses on a blind and handicapped man, Hamm and his helper, Clov. They both feel that the end of something is drawing near. “It is a pure and devastating distillation of the human essence in the face of approaching death.”

Endgame is still relevant in today’s society. Beckett’s play being a post-World War II piece, obviously affected the way he wrote it and the themes it contains. The play also links into today’s society by focusing on politics. For example, one of the themes in Endgame is isolation. This could be seen as applicable to current American politics with President Donald Trump wanting to build a wall dividing America and Mexico in order to prevent immigrants from entering the county. This is completely isolating Mexican citizens just as Hamm and Clov were isolated from the world and each other. Another example of isolation in today’s society is ‘Brexit’. In 2016 the majority of the British public voted for Britain to leave the European Union (EU). Therefor isolating themselves from the trade market, but also the overall security of the Europe itself.

Other themes of Endgame include Time, Suffering, Existence and Death. These themes are very clear and consistent throughout the entire piece. Beckett most likely made these the main themes to ensure that his piece can remain relevant and relatable into the future years. These 4 themes are universal and will always be relevant.

Beckett’s first audience would have not been used to this type of theatre and plot because the style in which it was performed was ‘Theatre of the Absurd’. “Theatre of the Absurd arose as a movement from the doubts and fears surrounding World War II.” This style of theatre began in the 1940’s and continued through to 1989 which means it was still very new when Endgame was first performed in 1958. Beckett’s audience may have been confused by this stylised piece, but also may have related to it well considering they had all just lived through the World War.

I enjoyed reading this play because it was different to anything I’ve ever read, however I found it didn’t have any form of climax which made it a difficult read. I know, however, this was Beckett’s intention which he achieved very well. (5 stars)

Bibliography

Absurd, T. of the and Definition (2003) Theater of the absurd: Definition & characteristics – video & lesson transcript. Available at: http://study.com/academy/lesson/theater-of-the-absurd-definition-characteristics-quiz.html

Shmoop (2017) Endgame themes. Available at: http://www.shmoop.com/endgame/themes.html

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Bibliography

Image 1 Available at: http://www.asiw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Told_Memories_in_Flames.jpg

Image 2 Available at: https://i0.wp.com/www.newcitystage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Told-by-the-Wind-The-Llanarth-Group-by-Ace-McCarron-7.jpg

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Told by the Wind Review

Told by the Wind is an engaging piece which leaves the meaning and plot in the hands of each individual audience member. The performance was completely stripped back of most elements we associate with drama, leaving a great deal to the imagination. Writer Kaite O’Reily (Dramatist) and actors Jo Shapland and Phillip Zarrilli have created a stillness and quietness to the piece which has a constant intensity and atmosphere that causes members of the audience to be unable to move or even swallow in fear that it may be heard throughout the auditorium.

Constantly both actors are on stage, always facing away from each other and never connect. Suggestive movement takes place with slight dialogue from the male character, who I believe has Dementia and is still grieving for his dead wife and is trying to remember her. She never speaks, however not through the lack of trying as she stutters and can’t get her words out, she uses movement with her body to communicate.

Without any dialogue or storytelling actions throughout the performance the audience is continuously being tested in their own way, to make sense of the piece. However, by doing this more questions came from it than answers. Is she a distant memory that he is desperate to regain? Is she the dance that he is creating choreography for? The silence of the performance draws the audience in and puts them in a trance and holds them there throughout the whole performance as we see sharp, juddering gestures and hear a variety of noises changing volume, pace and amount of diction.

The set and props were very basic and unexpected. Down stage right was a white chair and upstage left was a small desk with a chair and a window frame hanging in front of it. The set was so minimal that it forces the audience to give their full attention to the characters and the movement taking place. The low lighting used acts almost as a third character by creating an eerie atmosphere and a beautiful collage of shadows projected on the surrounding surfaces of the theatre.

Told by the wind is an enlightening performance that gives the audience the power to create their own story. The performers demonstrate dedication and skill to their craft with intense movement and developing a serene and tranquil mood.

(4 stars)

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Steen, S,

The Crime of Marriage: Arbella Stuart and The Duchess of Malfi

1991, The Sixteenth Century Journal

Page 61

Available at:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/2542016

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Love, Lies and Taxidermy Review