In this reading I will be looking at the show “There shall be fireworks” written by Simon Day and Martin Bonger, produced by the Plasticine Men and performed by Martin Bonger. The specific performance to which I am referring was at the Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter on 29th September 2016. This performance is a one-man show where the actor, Martin Bonger is narrating a story to the audience. It is a dramatic production, there is a set, music, the performer has a costume and yet it also clearly storytelling. This reading will explore the signs that might define where this performance is storytelling and where it is acting or a blend of both. Although the word “storytelling” has many uses and meanings in this reading it is being understood in the
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It can also be deduced that as the actor is probably in his thirties and the life story of the character goes from being a young boy to an older man that the performer is not the character, that acting is taking place. There are a few moments where the actor drops from storytelling or narrating and moves into a different mode of acting where he is no longer telling us a story but becomes characters within the story; one example being where he becomes a stock broker on the dance floor of a disco in the 1980s. Here for fleeting moments there is a fourth wall and the audience is looking in upon a scene from the 1980s and the actor is no longer relating directly with …show more content…
In other categories such as the actor’s relationship with the audience, the way the narrative is conveyed and the mis-en-scene it is more firmly on the storytelling side of the table. The author in a recent interview about this performance says: “I think we need stories and we need storytelling. I hope there will always be a hunger that means that somewhere people still crave coming together in a room to share the experience of telling stories, or hearing stories.” (PRSD 2016) This performance certainly fulfills that
It can also be deduced that as the actor is probably in his thirties and the life story of the character goes from being a young boy to an older man that the performer is not the character, that acting is taking place. There are a few moments where the actor drops from storytelling or narrating and moves into a different mode of acting where he is no longer telling us a story but becomes characters within the story; one example being where he becomes a stock broker on the dance floor of a disco in the 1980s. Here for fleeting moments there is a fourth wall and the audience is looking in upon a scene from the 1980s and the actor is no longer relating directly with …show more content…
In other categories such as the actor’s relationship with the audience, the way the narrative is conveyed and the mis-en-scene it is more firmly on the storytelling side of the table. The author in a recent interview about this performance says: “I think we need stories and we need storytelling. I hope there will always be a hunger that means that somewhere people still crave coming together in a room to share the experience of telling stories, or hearing stories.” (PRSD 2016) This performance certainly fulfills that