Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Which theatre has the best scenery?
guardian.co.uk: "After 10 years in business, Keswick's Theatre by the Lake finally had its big moment last week, when the Guardian's Comment pages declared that 'no other theatre in Britain sits in such a splendid spot'. Regrettably, I have yet to go there – although I did write an article in the programme for the current production of Blackbird, so the management obviously has very good taste. Any theatre with a view of sheep, mountains, water and trees surely ticks all the right boxes for a beauty spot. Indeed, the theatre's own website claims it is 'one of the most beautifully located theatres you can find in England'. So which of England's – or, for that matter, the rest of the world's – theatres can rival it?"
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6 comments:
No matter how great the scenery is in an indoor production, there's something amazing about outdoor stages and bringing theatre back to nature. It may be more difficult to adjust performances to the weather and deal with all the unpredictable factors in doing an outdoor performance but venues like Keswick's Theatre by the Lake have such a great appeal to it. It looks amazing in the photograph and the ambiance of a theatre under the stars and in nature is really irreplaceable.
No matter what type of scenery you build it's hard to beat a natural setting like that. All you have to do is make sure it fits with what you are doing - a design that specifies that it's set in a modern office building might not go as well in that space as Shakespeare or many of the Greek plays, to make it work you'd have to expend a lot of effort to suppress the natural scenery before you're even constructing your own, and it would seem a shame to do that when you're starting with what they have there.
I find it very insetting how amazing outdoor theater is when i work on an outdoor stage is was a very different experiences then indoor theater. So i agree that out door theater is much better then indoor also the scenery that this theater has is amazing. so outdoor theater is a lot better then indoor.
I think that there can be a number of interesting challenges associated with outdoor theatre. Traditional theatre design has evolved to a point of a highly controlled environment that can be easily manipulated to form different realities. An outdoor theatre can either try to compete or assimilate to its natural surroundings. The set for "Blackbird" is a very linear office space that would provide a stark contrast to any natural landscape. On the other hand, a set that embraces its natural surroundings will have a very different mental effect on the audience.
Outdoor venues open up a number of new opportunities that can't necessarily be achieved with an indoor location, such as the design agreeing with or being a total contrast to the location, depending on the needs of the show. But, I don't think that one can be declared as better than the other. Outdoor venues open up a lot of potential problems that a closed area can easily prevent, such as bad weather issues. Personally, I prefer indoor venues, because it keeps the focus on the performance, rather than allowing such distractions to possibly take away from it.
Ohhhh.....I would love to see a production in this theatre -- or even just sit there when there isn't any production going on. The fact that its right there amidst a lake and mountains would certainly make the show more enjoyable. The fact that you would be able to see such a clear line between mankind and nature would remind me just that much more of how special the theatre is -- and Art in general to our "spirit", "chi", whatever you want to call it...
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