Theatre Royal

In Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" he uses various comedic devices to create comedy; most noticeably melodrama and farce. These devices are used excessively in order to repeatedly address serious matters in a light-hearted manner; Wilde does this to create humour as opposed to offending his audience. Wilde deliberately wrote the play in this manner as he was fully conscious that his audience consisted of upper class Victorians. Throughout the play, Oscar Wilde articulately trivializes particular values which are supposed to be important in Victorian society, such as marriage and aristocracy, through the use of witty paradoxes and epigrams. Wilde's intentions were to make society think more profoundly and to make them more cognizant of serious matters in life, which should be treated with sincerity and the trivial things with seriousness. Therefore, Oscar Wilde's use of subtitle is not completely appropriate. One of the values which are satirized by Oscar Wilde is aristocracy. As with the rest of the play, Act 1 is closely constructed and the opening exchanges between Algernon and Lane establishes the tone of the play: light-hearted, witty yet beyond the reach of orthodox morality. From the opening act it is evident that Algernon's relationship with Lane is dependent upon a witty reversal of expected social norms. The 1890s was an era in which, in the proper upper class home, the assumption was that a high moral tone was spread from masters to servants. However…

This semester, I have seen numerous of productions that were enjoyable and at the same time, shared a common theme towards the end of the play which was there ticket towards freedom. The two productions I thought resemble this includes Father Comes Home from the Wars and the Royale. These two productions had a common connection of racism moments when they were trying to reach freedom. The main character in each of the productions had a difficult time stepping out of their comfort zones due to…

Throughout life, people grow and change. Along our journey, certain events have great effects on who we become and how we react in situations. In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding explores on the thought of events and situations shaping people's characters. In the sequel I have decided to write, I have chosen three characters’ lives to analyze after being rescued. During the sequel, which occurs ten years after being rescued, the future lives of Ralph, Roger, and Simon will be…

“Capitol Theatre is at the former site of the Belmore Markets. The latter, built by George McRae (Architect) and Norman Selfe (structural engineer) in 1891, but was commercially unsuccessful due to its location, being too far from Darling Harbour. The old site was rebuilt as a theatre in 1928.” Since the early 19th century when this section of land was used by settlers as a market place for manufacture and hay, hence its name, “Haymarket”. The building initially functioned as “Belmore Markets”…

Blasted Takes place in a posh hotel room in Leeds England and begins by introducing us to an expensive hotel. Sarah Kane’s Blasted creates the setting of a war torn Leeds, England. The play itself is characterized by degradation, suicide and violence. Blasted was Kane’s first play which introduced us to Ian and Cate. Ian is a middle-aged misogynistic, homophobic, racist, tabloid journalist. He is also divorced and has a son named Matthew. Cate is a young mentally challenged, child-like woman…

From Performing in plays around the world with the National Theatre of the Deaf to sharing a screen with characters such as Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster, Linda Bove has become an inspiration to many Deaf actors and actresses. Born into a Deaf family November 30, 1945, Bove began her education at St. Joseph’s School for the Deaf in the Bronx, New York. From there she continued her education at the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in Trenton, New Jersey graduating later…

The Pioneer of Russia Without Alexander Ostrovsky, theatre today would be completely different. Ostrovsky was one of the most influential Russian playwrights; he developed a new style of realism, rooted in his personal experience, and propagated his innovative ideas through his educational endeavors and leadership in the dramatic community. Evidence of his impact can be seen both in the critical and popular acclaim he achieved in his lifetime and the ongoing influence of his work today.…

Commedia Dell’ Arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century and was responsible for the advent of the actresses and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. Commedia Dell’ Arte means an improvised kind of popular comedy in Italian theaters that is based on stock characters. Actors adapted their comic dialogue and action according to a few basic plots (commonly love intrigues) and to topical issues during the 16th-18th century.…

Dance, Theatre and Religion: A Balinese Case Study Southeast Asia is a highly diverse region, home to myriad ethnicities, religions, practices, beliefs, values, languages, cultures and traditions. The variety of performance art, dance and theatre found in Southeast Asia “is almost staggering” (Brandon, 1967, p. 1). Some examples of performance art, dance and theatre found in Southeast Asia include “shadow plays in Java, dramatic folk rituals in Bali, masked pantomime in Thailand, spirit…

On March 17, 2016 at eight o'clock pm I attended the play at the Wells Theatre put on by The Virginia Stage Company entitled Grounded. The play writer of this one women show wrote exactly twenty-one plays in his lifetime. Some which include, Grounded of course, Elephant's Graveyard, All Talk, One Hand Clapping, The Royal Historian of Oz, Lovely Letters, Three Men in a Boat, Borglum! The Mount Rushmore Musical, Tights on a Wire and Night of the Mime just to name a few. His plays have been…