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Cain's Book Play Analysis

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Cain's Book Play Analysis
Cain's Book
Assignment

The Venue

-We went to see the performance of Cain's Book in The Arches Theatre Glasgow. The Arches is a venue I had never heard of before and when we arrived there I wasn't surprised why I hadn't as it isn't your typical area for a theatre venue. The Arches is situated in an under passage in the centre of Glasgow, surrounded by some odd shops and fast food places and one of the entrances to Cenral Station. The area is pretty run down looking, quite dark and dingy and an area I wouldn't feel very comfortable being in on my own. This is pretty fitting for the themes in Cain's book of drug use. The idea that sterotypical views of the locations assossiated with drugs and drug use are pretty dark and dingy and uncomfortable. …show more content…
-Very minimal set and use of space.

-The relationship between the actors space and the audience is very close and personal. The acting area is not a stage, the acting takes place on the floor and the audience sit in raked seating. This lack of stage removes any sort of barrier between the actor and audience, making everything very open and on show. Almost a personal feeling between the actors and their audience. I realised after this performance that perhaps this more relaxed idea of theatre, without a stage and performed on the floor, gives a play a more one on one feeling.

-There is no curtain used in this performance of Cain's Book. The acting area is openly on show from the moment the audience walk in, right through till the end. This adds another element of interest to the performance.

-The visibility of the actors is very clear throughout the play. The fact the seating is raked helps ensure each audience member has a clear view of the acting area. Also, the use of light in the performance skill fully highlighted each character, making them even more clearly visible at times of importance. There was three characters within Cain's Book, they rarely interacted at all with one another on stage, so as they each spoke, they were illuminated by a single light source, ensuring all of the audiences focus was on
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