On Friday 24th October 2014, I went to see Frantic Assembly’s version of William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’, directed by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett. Frantic Assembly are a theatre company whose performances are primarily dominated by their unusual use of physical theatre to express emotions of characters and uncover hidden meanings within the play through the use of movement. The play was performed to an audience of mostly young adults and teenagers, perhaps because it had been reconceptualised, which possibly appeals to younger generations.
Before the play began, there was a very clear and deliberately created atmosphere. As soon as I entered the theatre, the sound of loud, early 90’s rave style music “Hybrid” enveloped me and was all I …show more content…
In a scene where Iago and Rodrigo are getting Cassio drunk, the flexibility of the stage flats, which moved and shook as Iago forced Cassio to become more and more intoxicated, were very effective in conveying Cassio’s emotions. I thought this instability could symbolise Cassio’s drunken persona, and how deeply Iago’s power affected and orchestrated in order to fuel his own agenda. It was almost like I was looking through Cassio’s eyes as he became increasingly unstable. I thought the way the actors used their bodies to mimic the movement of the set further enhanced this effect; the non-naturalistic movement of the set was very Artaudian as it created emotion visually on stage, which really engaged me as an audience …show more content…
Realising the horrific extent of his actions, I believe the actor employed Complicité’s Seventh Level of Tension of ‘Shock’, by making his body rigid as if paralysed with the disbelief at what he had done. He also used facial expression by opening his eyes wide and if really beginning to see the realities of his character’s crime. The actor added to this through the use of movement by stumbling backwards to show how his instability, and backed into the wall. As soon as he made contact with the walls, they began to move in a rippling motion, moving Othello with them, almost trapping him. I interpreted the movement of the flats as a representation of the breakdown of Othello’s mental faculties; I thought the way the walls enveloped and trapped Othello foreshadowed how his life would change now he had killed Desdemona. The way the walls boxed him in were symbolic of a prison cell, presaging where Othello would end up for his crime. The realisation of prison, I thought, was Othello’s motivation for committing suicide; on the one hand, he did not want to live his life without Desdemona, but also the racial abuse he would indefinitely face in prison was, what he considered, to be a fate worse than
Before the play began, there was a very clear and deliberately created atmosphere. As soon as I entered the theatre, the sound of loud, early 90’s rave style music “Hybrid” enveloped me and was all I …show more content…
In a scene where Iago and Rodrigo are getting Cassio drunk, the flexibility of the stage flats, which moved and shook as Iago forced Cassio to become more and more intoxicated, were very effective in conveying Cassio’s emotions. I thought this instability could symbolise Cassio’s drunken persona, and how deeply Iago’s power affected and orchestrated in order to fuel his own agenda. It was almost like I was looking through Cassio’s eyes as he became increasingly unstable. I thought the way the actors used their bodies to mimic the movement of the set further enhanced this effect; the non-naturalistic movement of the set was very Artaudian as it created emotion visually on stage, which really engaged me as an audience …show more content…
Realising the horrific extent of his actions, I believe the actor employed Complicité’s Seventh Level of Tension of ‘Shock’, by making his body rigid as if paralysed with the disbelief at what he had done. He also used facial expression by opening his eyes wide and if really beginning to see the realities of his character’s crime. The actor added to this through the use of movement by stumbling backwards to show how his instability, and backed into the wall. As soon as he made contact with the walls, they began to move in a rippling motion, moving Othello with them, almost trapping him. I interpreted the movement of the flats as a representation of the breakdown of Othello’s mental faculties; I thought the way the walls enveloped and trapped Othello foreshadowed how his life would change now he had killed Desdemona. The way the walls boxed him in were symbolic of a prison cell, presaging where Othello would end up for his crime. The realisation of prison, I thought, was Othello’s motivation for committing suicide; on the one hand, he did not want to live his life without Desdemona, but also the racial abuse he would indefinitely face in prison was, what he considered, to be a fate worse than