Reflective Analysis of Shows
Polly: The Heartbreak Opera
Photo Available at: https://thewardrobetheatre.com/shows/polly-the-heartbreak-opera/
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Our adaptation of Orlando has been heavily inspired by a variety of modern performances. Contemporary theatre serves as a platform for cultural expression, creating empathy from the audience. We wanted to incorporate this by encouraging critical thinking about social and political issues by using gender in Orlando. A production I watched during the creative process was Polly: The Heartbreak Opera by Mari Hamilton and Sharp Teeth Theatre which showcases an ‘unashamed expression of female rage, love, loss and revenge’ (Deardan) through Polly’s characterisation. The actors used synchronised, almost hypnotising movements to demonstrate Polly’s deteriorating innocence and the use of music to symbolise her love for Macheath throughout their performance. This was most prevalent when the actress was singing in a karaoke bar wearing her disguised male clothing, gripping the microphone with a soulless look on her face. We wanted to incorporate this idea in our adaptation, specifically when Marmaduke abandons Orlando to embark on his journey in Act Two; forcing Orlando’s self-discovery and need to reflect on his desire, ‘Who do I love?’ (2022, p.7). This demonstrates the tension between societal expectations and individual freedom, like Polly herself in Hamilton’s adaptation. Furthermore, all four actresses wore the same makeup, used placards, multi-rolled different genders and broke the fourth wall by interacting with the audience, I noted them saying ‘There is a contract between us and power’, which heavily evoked me to think about engaging with the audience, especially when playing Virginia throughout our performance.
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Photo Available at: https://thewardrobetheatre.com/shows/polly-the-heartbreak-opera/
Photo Available at: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/polly-heartbreak-opera
(Tanner, 2018)
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Wise Children by Emma Rice is a contemporary piece that navigates the tumultuous lives in the show business of Dora and Nora Chance. Rice’s adaptation of the narrative spans multiple generations with different actors, whilst also exploring the theme of identity, the importance of family and the passage of time. A performer I was particularly interested in was actor Gareth Snook who played Dora throughout, as he was almost narrating the past with different intonations and paces while the ensemble performed his description like a memory. I was interested in how the narrators are narrating their own story, and considered heightening this idea in Bartlett’s script, creating a motif indicating to the audience Woolf is constantly working and actively writing the play into existence as they are watching Orlando’s story unfold. We wanted a continuous presence of Woolf, which further inspired us to incorporate this style in our voices when playing Virginia, using different tones and pitch whilst remaining in character to distinguish her different characteristics and breaking the fourth wall even when we’re not speaking. That mentioned, Rice’s use of cross-gender acting, synchronisation and instrumental music played by the ensemble, helped us elevate to think about incorporating music into our interpretation of Orlando. One moment I was fascinated by was the stylistic choice of the slow-motion movement of flowers being thrown in the air creating a tense atmosphere, therefore in rehearsal, we considered using slow-paced, unison dance movements for the intimacy between Prue and Kitty while also experimenting with feelings and sounds.
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Wise Children
(Tanner, 2018)
Photo Available at: https://theartsdesk.com/theatre/theartsdesk-qa-director-emma-rice
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a play written by Franz Kafka, adapted by Steven Berkoff depicting the grappling life of a young man named Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect-like creature. Berkoff was praised for his innovative theatrical techniques and the intense portrayal of the play’s themes of identity, alienation from a capitalist society, and existentialism. He illustrates this through the characterisation of Gregor and the profound impact his transformation has on his relationship with society as well as his family when they resent him for his inability to work and support them financially. Gregor’s feelings of inadequacy and the pressure of societal expectations are depicted in a series of obscure movements representing his gradual transformation into a beetle centre stage. This eccentric style was considered in Orlando’s transformation from a man into a lady in our adaptation, to illustrate the obstacles and limitations imposed on women due to societal expectations that Orlando hadn’t faced when she was a man. For example, in Act One, Scene Eight ‘On Board’ (2022, p.42), Orlando struggles to understand the issue of being half naked in front of the Captain reminding the audience of how significant Orlando’s transformation is. This is also a way for the audience to acknowledge these stereotypes and challenge them. We wanted to show the constraints and the obvious struggle of having to navigate and conform to an isolated society, like Gregor’s experience, as both plays are highly politicised. We wanted to use this idea of solitude and inhumane capitalism depicted in Metamorphosis to show the transformation of Orlando and how society ultimately drives you to complete isolation in our adaptation.
Photo Available at: https://vulpeslibris.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/metamorphosis-a-theatre-adaptation-from-franz-kafka-by-steven-berkoff/
(Tillie, 1980)
Photo Available At: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/steven-berkoff--342555115407247796/