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This modern adaptation suggests (or rather states) that the situation today with refugees in Calais is much the same as over 200 years ago during the French Revolution; the huge gap between the rich and the poor, the abuse of power and the power of "love, humanity and hope".
The original story is rather complicated, as is this adaption, as is this whole production, which makes it very difficult to capture the essence of the play in just a few paragraphs. This means that when you watch it you can't just sit back and relax, you have to think, you have to focus and you have to try and understand. This makes the play, for me, very exciting. Let it be said, however, that you must do your homework beforehand! You have to read at least a synopsis, (there is a very good one in the programme) or you don't have much hope in knowing what is going on! |
The play does not come across as a story as such, but more as disjointed snippets. They are not particularly cohesive, and in the first act it was difficult to find the thread connecting them all together. This did improve, however, through the second half.
In my opinion, there is a prominent Brechtian style to the play. The scene titles announced before each scene, the direct address to the audience and the more 'abstract' set all serve to make the performance very clearly a representation of reality. The lack of character development and disjointed scenes, the transitions between modern day and 18th Century prevent the audience from becoming too attached to the plot and the characters. This forced the audience (perhaps a bit too aggressively) to notice the social injustices that Dunster was pointing out and to look at his political opinion. |
Brecht also wanted his audience to understand that, as the play was a construction, so were their lives, and they could go forward and make changes to their world, based on what they had seen. A Big Issue vendor was in the theatre prior to the show, so that you could start to make your change, although I'm sure that more people would have bought a copy after the show.
The costume changes from 18th century to modern day were interesting. The fact that during the transitions nothing changed on stage apart from the costumes, there was no shift in language or set, further compounded the idea that drives this adaptation of the novel; that a story written over 150 years ago about a time over 200 years ago is still relevant to an audience of today. |
The set consists of 3 large shipping containers (they seem to be a particular favourite of the Open Air Theatre at the moment!) which cleverly open and close and rotate to create different scene locations. They are a stroke of genius. The two television screens that project scene titles and show pictures of Queen Elizabeth or repeating videos of riots, however, seem a little unnecessary. They do not add anything to the overall performance, merely distracting from what is happening on stage. |
The cast was very good, particularly Francesca Mills and Nicholas Karimi. Individually they stand out, but their scene together at the end of the play is particularly beautiful.
Timothy Sheader's direction is undeniably very clever. His productions are always unique and this is no exception. Prepare to be challenged!
Timothy Sheader's direction is undeniably very clever. His productions are always unique and this is no exception. Prepare to be challenged!