Twelve Night Review
Twelfth Night Review
On the 2nd of December I visited the Apollo Theatre to watch �Twelfth Night�. Prior to entering the theatre I had expectations that the director would create a modernised play . When we entered, upon the stage the actors were preparing, I could see that they were dressed in Elizabethan fashion and realised that my initial thoughts were wrong.
The actors dressing on stage revealed the honesty of the theatre and displayed the original clothing that this production was using. The costumes were all created to match the outfits worn by the wealthy during Shakespearian times, made from silks and linens transporting you to the 1600�s, recreating the Globe�s theatre original productions.
Staging was used effectively during this performance and continuously broke the fourth wall but not for the same effect as Brecht would have intended, instead to engage the audience. The theatre had a proscenium arch, end-on stage but interestingly the director had chosen to use thrust staging where the audience where placed on all three sides of the stage. This was created by having banks of audience on either side of the stage � the audience on stage were often involved in the play and the construction they were sat in was also used for the character to lean on and use, creating a naturalistic feel and heightened the relationships between the actors and the audience. The director heavily relied on staging to engage with the audience this was key in Shakespeare times as the fundamental purpose of plays was to become the main entertainment for Elizabethans. Situated centre stage was a trap door which was used to save Viola from the storm. Beliefs involved with the Globe Theatre was that the ceiling represented the heavens; the underneath being Hell. This idea was used by the director when Viola is being rescued from death by rising from the underneath (death and hell) to above, on stage, where she comes back to life. This aspect of staging is repeated when
On the 2nd of December I visited the Apollo Theatre to watch �Twelfth Night�. Prior to entering the theatre I had expectations that the director would create a modernised play . When we entered, upon the stage the actors were preparing, I could see that they were dressed in Elizabethan fashion and realised that my initial thoughts were wrong.
The actors dressing on stage revealed the honesty of the theatre and displayed the original clothing that this production was using. The costumes were all created to match the outfits worn by the wealthy during Shakespearian times, made from silks and linens transporting you to the 1600�s, recreating the Globe�s theatre original productions.
Staging was used effectively during this performance and continuously broke the fourth wall but not for the same effect as Brecht would have intended, instead to engage the audience. The theatre had a proscenium arch, end-on stage but interestingly the director had chosen to use thrust staging where the audience where placed on all three sides of the stage. This was created by having banks of audience on either side of the stage � the audience on stage were often involved in the play and the construction they were sat in was also used for the character to lean on and use, creating a naturalistic feel and heightened the relationships between the actors and the audience. The director heavily relied on staging to engage with the audience this was key in Shakespeare times as the fundamental purpose of plays was to become the main entertainment for Elizabethans. Situated centre stage was a trap door which was used to save Viola from the storm. Beliefs involved with the Globe Theatre was that the ceiling represented the heavens; the underneath being Hell. This idea was used by the director when Viola is being rescued from death by rising from the underneath (death and hell) to above, on stage, where she comes back to life. This aspect of staging is repeated when