WhatsOnStage.com: It all really began with a wedding. In 2008, two friends invited us to their civil partnership at Middle Temple Hall in London. From the moment we stepped inside the building, we were captivated by its beauty and sense of history. Over the preceding few years, we'd been staging theatre productions in unusual non-theatre spaces. We toured southwest France each summer, performing open-air Shakespeare in medieval town squares, gardens and castles, and had just finished a year long residency in an atmospheric but chilly derelict building in north London. We knew Middle Temple Hall's strong theatrical tradition, particularly as the location of the first performance of Twelfth Night in 1602, and so in 2011 – more in hope than expectation – we approached the hall about the possibility of staging a production.
8 comments:
Alternate theatre spaces are such an amazing idea and function! I have heard of avant-garde theatre in warehouses, but never before have I even considered the idea of performing shows such as classical Shakespeare in a cathedral itself. The beauty of the arches and the elegant colors of the stained glass not only compliment the set of the show, but it also infuses the space with drama and poise that fit the show and it's beauty. In the future I hope to see these concepts in future performances outside of cathedrals. Perhaps a futuristic play integrated in a space museum or the implementation of more outdoor performance venues. I also see this as a way to involve more non-theatre people in the theatre, because if a show is in a venue they already attend then they may be more willing to try something new like a night at the theatre. So way to go unconventional theatre spaces! I hope this movement continues to move forward.
I really wish the article did a better job describing the setting and grandeur of performing in a cathedral because I imagine it would be so interesting and captivating. I suppose I wish there were pictures of their lighting designs which hit the architecture as much as the actors or how the costumes play with vivid colors of the walls or stained glass. Anyway, as much as I love scenery, I think experiencing a show in this setting would incredible on it's own (and I believe the New Hazlett Theatre here in Pittsburgh is in an old church). There's already something very theatrical about attending a church service, with it's own set of rules, proper attire, moments to participate and moments to stay quiet, etc. So going to an Antic Disposition show for example would connect the obvious parallels. To conclude, I love how AD seems to work in these places an others, but with there was more info on the design.
This is really interesting! Like Delaney, I also really enjoy unconventional theatre spaces! I think this is becoming preeminent in today's commercial theatre scene (for example, the off broadway revival of Sweeney Todd happening in a pie shop). Pushing the boundaries of the typical theatrical experience is fascinating, to me. Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 has begun to introduce this on a larger scale- the great white way- where the creative team transformed the Imperial theatre (where not too long ago i saw some cool usage of projections for Les Mis) into a completely new and immersive theatre space where the stage wraps into the audience. This, to me, completely changed the space- thus changing my experience.
I think putting shakespeare into a cathedral is a great idea! What if we did Children of Eden in a park? What does that evoke for the audience? I think the more exposure to non traditional theatre that we have at the educational level- the better. We have the opportunity to redefine the conventions.
This isn’t the first time I've read about people doing theater in a nonconventional setting. In fact, it seems to be getting more popular as time progresses. Honestly, I don’t blame people for doing It, with the advances in technology and the ability to put on a show without the infrastructure of a proscenium theater has become easier than ever. That being said this type of theater is still very challenging to put on, designing for space remain almost the same but challenges arise for the technical director depending on the size and magnitude of the production. From the looks of it, this company looks for cathedrals and old architecture. I am sure the spaces are amazingly beautiful but when it comes to rigging scenery you start to run into problems with finding pick points. At the end of the day it is very interesting to see devised pieces in unconventional places but ask yourself if it is worth the headache to get.
This sounds like an incredible production and concept and would defiantly be something I would be interested in being a part of. From the start I think that cathedrals and churches have gorgeous architecture and spaces. I think there are some really cool lighting design opportunities with the natural space. My main concern with a space like that would be the sound in the space. Usually the natural reverberation in that space is boarding overpowering; therefore, I would be interested to see how installing scenic elements and whatever is required for the production would affect the natural reverberation. The photos included in the article show a gorgeous production and I would love to have seen such a production in spaces such as these. I also think that the connection between the show and these spaces on the most basic level is also really cool and powerful which just completes the production.
I feel relatively torn on the notion of theater preformed in propose built theaters versus that of doing show in a old historic building. This torn feeling comes from the fact that while I find that I am more partial toward both working and seeing shows in in the more traditional purpose built theater, I also find that I have been to shows in non conventional venues that I really could not imagine being done in any other type of venue. That being said my feelings regarding non conventional venues is that older religious buildings tend to work better than warehouses, I say this because I feel that repurposing an old church or such towards theater is more so in line with what the building was built for that being a preformance. I say this not to malign religion, but to state that most of the religious rituals we have have a aspect of a proformance to it and thus are built with this in mind. And what tends to be older architecture in these buildings can lend a sense of gravitas to the show that may be hard to reproduce with a more traditional setting. However with all the said I would feel more reluctant to work in a nonconventional venue than I would in a purpose built theater.
I really like the idea of bringing theater into unconventional spaces,because i think it provides a whole new layer to experiencing theater. I have seen a couple of productions where the pieces took place outside of the normal confines of a theater. The most memorable of which was a show called “Ondine” which i saw at the Sutro Baths in San Francisco. The sutro baths are the closest things to ruins that we have in san francisco, once great and opulent, now they are little more than the remnants of stone structures. The production of Ondine was spread across the entirety of the sutro baths, forcing the audience to walk around the area from scene to scene. This was an entirely new theater experience to me, and the storyline of the show being juxtaposed over the ruins of the sutro baths was an incredible usage of a non-theater environment in order to immerse the audience in the piece. I think it would be incredibly interesting to put on more shows in unconventional settings, and i hope to have the fortune to do so someday.
I personally love going to see theater in found or otherwise unconventional spaces. Every audience member brings forth their own preconceived ideas of what the building means and has unique and diverse memories that are called upon just by walking into the space. I always feel like I take more away from a play when it employs the use of a non-theater environment. However, as we were recently discussing in Scenic Fabrication with David Boevers, found spaces and site-specific theater are extremely difficult to create from a technical standpoint. These spaces lack the majority of the necessary infrastructure to host a performance. Everything from where the lights are hung to electricity to support a show to a stage area has to be built and installed in the space. Some abandoned buildings, such as warehouses or old cathedrals/ruins, lack bathrooms and heating (both necessities). Also, as my local learned last year on a warehouse call, you only have the tools you bring with you to the site and, should you forget some equipment, it can be a long drive to fetch it. That being said, I find that the end product is always incredibly worth the effort.
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