​Ruhi Kumar

Live Theatre Performances

 

 

Maktub -Student Performance 

 

Maktub is a student performance that we went to watch. The performance was trilingual and done using Cantonese  Mandarin and English. Maktub was a collection of 'love' stories, sewn together by one central thread line which was about a middle eastern king who aims to kill girls that are slaves that do not respect or abide by his rules. However the play focuses on one girl whom tells him a story that sparks interest in the king. The play focuses on each of these stories while having middle-eastern and arabian set, costuming and movements. One thing I really learned from this play was how all the elements of theatre such as facial expressions, movement, vocals all come together and create something that is truly unique and beautiful. Even though at times we did not understand due to the language barrier just by looking at the actors movements and facial expressions I felt a certain connection with them. My favourite aspect of the performance was the set design and staging. The staging was so unique as it was slanted but it really benefited the piece as the actors were able to use all the space. My favourite part was when the actors emerged from under the staging. This performance was a great learning experience as even though our set design won't be as intricate as this performance I learned a lot about using space and how you can transform the space using fabric, and simple props. Another thing I learned that was quite important actually happened after the performance when the director talked about her inspiration for the project. She said that she choose the whole middle eastern theme as she lived in Dubai and has some arabic roots therefore she wanted to further explore her culture through the medium of theatre.

 

 Overall,  I found this piece to be very inspirational as I learned that when I direct my own individual piece, I will ensure that I pick a topic that I am eager to explore and am passionate about. I also want to pick something that I  I have a deep connection to, as the more interested I am in that aspect of theatre the more dedicated and excited I will be about directing it. 

 

Not I/FootFalls/Rockabye and Lionboy reflection-Student reflection.

 

We had the privilege of getting to watch a performance of three Samuel Beckett plays Not I/FootFalls and Rockabye. The performance began with a performance of Not I where the audience was placed in complete darkness aside from a disembodied female mouth, that was mounted eight feet above the stage. The actor delivered the performance using a hyper-rapid stream of consciousness as her speech was intended to be delivered at the speed of thought. I constantly found this very interesting as, being an audience member I wasn't given time to break down and think about what I was hearing but was forced to be engaged with the performance throughout in an attempt to make sense of it. She spoke using an extremely fast pace and in my opinion the piece evoked a sense of terror in the audience as I believe that the actor was hinting at conveying or recalling a deep trauma. I believe that by having the stage and the house lights pitch black throughout the performance was effective as the main focal point of the audience was automatically directed towards the mouth as we attempted to grasp an understanding and make sense of the performance. I really admired the actors technique and self control throughout the entire performance as she was mounted up above the stage while having to speak at the rate of thought I found this to be very engaging and interesting as an audience member. Another thing I loved was how they maintained the dark, desolate atmosphere. Throughout the performance I felt highly uncomfortable and alone as the stage and the audience was left in complete darkness. Even though at times I lost focus and found myself not 100% engaged in the performance when I was the darkness and the small spot of light which was the mouth really forced me to focus on dialogue as I continuously attempted to make sense of what she was saying. I also really like the 3 minute silence after each performance I felt like this allowed me to fully take in what I had just seen and reflect on it. I also feel this was an effective way of transitioning as all three pieces were very very different to one another. By having the audience sit in complete silence and darkness it transported the audience into a strange and mysterious world as we were unable to predict what we would be seeing next as Beckett plays are not in logical order and are ABSURDIST! 

 

The second performance Foot Falls was both moving and chilling as the main character struggles with her thoughts outside her dying mothers room. I feel like the tone and tension of her body was excellent as her focus and control was astounding throughout the performance. However, her movements were far too repetitive as she kept making the same sounds on the staging  This was an interesting sound as it created a chilling atmosphere for the audience and worked effectively at first however, as the performance continued it just became annoying and far too repetitive. The lighting was very effective it was a blue- white wash I feel this was effective in conveying the sadness and coldness of the character who was loosing her mother. Another thing I found very effective in Footfalls was the use of sound as the audience was not able to visually see the mother however we were able to hear echoes and sounds of her voice. I found this to be very interesting as in my opinion the performers used sound to describe the loneliness and desolation of the characters life. I found the use of minimal props and set to be very effective as throughout the piece the audience's main focal point was on the actor and her movements. 

 

Thirdly Rockabye, was a very interesting performance to put it one way I think my favourite part was the ending because it was all finally over. As a personal preference I like theatre to have a clear message and to communicate something to the audience however, after this performance I just felt like I wasted an hour of my time. I understand that Rockabye is probably one of Beckett most renowned pieces of theatre as it conveys human loneliness and features a prematurely old woman dressed in an old evening gown, rocking on a wooden chair. However, I did not manage to receive this message as throughout this piece she sat on the chair with her face painted pale and her face completely expressionless. Overall, I found this piece to to be very confusing and repetitive as she kept repeating the same line and for majority of the performance she just sat on the chair completely still I understand this was intended for dramatic effect however it was done for too long a period that as an audience member I zoned out.

 

Lionboy 

The performance of Lionboy was a lot more physical than the Samuel Beckett performances seen on the previous night. The performance was done by the physical theater company Complicite, and had a small cast of 6-8 actors therefore there was a lot of doubling up, however they incorporated many theatrical techniques and created an engaging piece of theatre that I enjoyed. Lionboy followed the story of who

Charlie Ashanti lives in the future where phones are powered by the sun, cars are banned and companies are more powerful than countries. Charlie is a perfectly normal boy, except for one thing: he can speak to cats.

So when his scientist parents are kidnapped, he sets off on a rescue mission – with a little help from a floating circus and its pride of performing lions. One thing I really enjoyed in this piece was the physicality as the actors were all able to move in unique ways throughout the performance For example when Charlie transformed to talking with humans and cats he had a specific stylised movement so the audience would develop a sense of familiarity and be able to identify the movement as his transition from human to cat. Secondly I really enjoyed how they managed to utilise everyday items and transform them into other pieces of set. I feel like the set really helped me as an audience member to visualise Charlie's journey. For example in the second act the metal ladders created the prison where Charlie was locked in however, they also created the bridge that helped them escape the prison. The use of the in the round staging was really effective as the audience was able to view the performance using multiple perspectives and it effectively managed to convey Charlie's trip around the world as the actors were able to freely move and it made transitions much easier. I also noticed that the performance contained some elements of Brecht as throughout the performance the audience was able to see the stage hands and the costume rack as it was all out in the open. I think this really allowed the audience to appreciate their ensemble even more as we were exposed to majority of the roles required to put on a successful performance. One thing I would improve is the storytelling of the piece as during parts it felt rushed and episodic particularly in the second half. I felt that there was an overreliance on narration especially in the beginning and the lack of dialogue between the characters themselves robs the story of human interaction as the characters never did form clear verbal relationships. Overall this was a good performance and I would totally take my kid to watch it if I had one, but its totally a one time watch. 

 

Lion boy Set