Live Design: This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and his plays are being produced around the world in celebration of the Bard’s bounty, but one of the most breathtaking productions is British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet version of The Winter’s Tale, a co-production by The Royal Ballet and National Ballet of Canada, with music by Joby Talbot.
3 comments:
This is awesome! I am so glad media and projection design is making its way into all types of theatre. I feel like even people who are “excepting” of media design limit it to weird abstract shows, because they don’t want it to take away from the classiness of theatre. So it is so nice to see such a classic art form incorporate media design. It really is such a multi faceted art form, and it is only getting started. I know many people in our Design and Production program were also looking into animation and this is the perfect combo! I also must say that after reading so many articles talking about how theatre is dead- this is why. Movies have changed exponentially over the past 50 years, effects are crazy now a days! Theatre has to understand that our society has such incredibly short attention spans, and they have to use this to their advantage, to a tleast pull them in. You that reflected in the types of plays coming forth, why not the types of designs on OLD plays? We keep saying we have to keep up with the times, so lets do it.
Dance adaptations of Shakespearean works always seemed a little strange and questionable to me, as the plays and stories are so language and word-centric. This is especially true of the The Winter's Tale, where there is an actual shift in writing style as the focus and setting of the play shifts from courtly matters (i.e. Hermione, and her death) to the lives of the peasantry (i.e. Perdita and company). This change - so crucial to the story, and singular among Shakespeare's works - is next to impossible to convey (excepting the obvious visuals that accompany balletic storytelling) without the written dialogue.
That said, this looks like an aesthetically rich, interesting performance. I noted the stylized costume choices, as well as the work on the bear by notable puppeteer Basil Twist. So while the value of the story might be discounted, I think this ballet does offer audiences a rich world and vibrant story to consider.
Last fall, Quantum theater did an adaption of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”. Unfortunately, this was my first encounter with this particular show. Like this ballet, the show made use of media. And I must say that the media design did not really fit the show. It felt tacked on, unnecessary. Personally, I don’t like to see media being used as a backdrop. If you have it, it should be vital to your show, and I fear that this ballet production will not succeed in doing that. The media will just be there, a simple backdrop. Sure it could move and symbolize the tension of the show. But it won’t be necessary. If the media wasn’t there you would still have the same show, the same impact on the audience. Shows that are done like Lord of the Flies deserve media. Anthony and Cleopatra was a phenomenal use of media. It was an intrinsic part of the show. On a related note, I honestly prefer painted backdrops over a projection any day. Media can feel like a cheap, fake copout when it is used as a backdrop. When you see a painted backdrop you are looking and years upon years of study and hours of labor by multiple people. Part of the beauty, at least for me, is the skill needed in order to make it. In comparison, just throwing up a media backdrop is simple and easy. I support the use of media design in theater and all other areas of our industry, I just don't want it to be a tacked-on unnecessary background, I want it to add something.
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