Theatre Studies – Design factors

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Evaluate how design factors were used to enhance the impact of any production you have seen.

On Saturday 16th October 1999, I attended a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It was a Red Shift Theatre production and was directed by Jonathan Holloway.

The play was performed in a formal space while the audience were seated on raked seating. Some soliloquies were addressed straight to the audience and the play within the play was staged as if the characters were watching a play in the auditorium. This had the effect of making the audience feel quite awkward. There was more concern felt for the characters who discussed their plights with the audience.

The Brechtian device of some actors remaining onstage when not acting was employed. The way in which they sat at the side of the stage, bolt upright on hard metal chairs had an initially confusing impact as it was not always clear whether or not the actors were part of the scene or not. The device also focused the audience’s attention on the scene infolding before them as the characters’ watching eyes also drew the audience to what they were watching. In this way, the use of non-performing actors heightened the specific impact of the scene, be it horror, delight or sadness.

The obelisks were used in many ways. The drumming on the metal sides signalled a scene change in many cases and heightened the tension of the flow of the story. The noise of the drumming, especially at the beginning, had an overpowering effect. The rapid, loud sound had an urgent and tense impact on the feeling of the scene. However, the dramatic impact could be marred somewhat by the predictability of the drumming when the scene was changed and the noise was sometimes too much.

Turning the obelisks on end symbolised a precipice. The way in which the actors moved around them, holding on, was important in showing this fact. Keeping very close to the blocks made the atmosphere very tense as it became believable that there was a long drop. However, for me, there was perhaps more tension created when the cast sat on chairs on the horizontal obelisks. The angle of the chairs on the obelisks and some of the footwear worn by the women looked very incompatible and provided some of the most worrying moments of the play.

Behind the scenery lay the technical controls. Through the design of the backdrop, it could be clearly seen who was in control of the various effects. This lessened the shock of a noise if your attention happened to be drawn to the controller at that point. The Brechtian idea of Distancing lessened the dramatic impact of the whole piece by removing the spectator from the action.

The smoke machine very much heightened the idea and impact of a cold night when used correctly. The anxiety of a cold, dark and lonely night was enhanced, but the image was destroyed when too much smoke was produced and some of the members of the front row began to choke a little.

Casting could be said in a way to be a design factor as the look of the cast affect the look of the play. Having Ophelia’s father played by a black man, while Ophelia was white was a little difficult to comprehend. While there was no confusion as such, there was a sense of disbelief among some of the audience.

The mixture of modern and military costume made the audience think about what such a contrast could symbolise. With an idea that this could show that Hamlet is spanning time, the audience could be worried of vengeance in the circle of their own acquaintances. Ophelia’s change of costume from white materials to a darker, more grungy look was shocking. Her subsequent sexually explicit movements were also shocking and somewhat disgusting to the audience. The white hoods of the spirits emphasised their anonymity and therefore the impact of the confusion that those who saw them felt.

The spirit characters had some of the most frightening impact on the audience. The way in which they moved and were shown was quite eerie. When Hamlet was faced with a spirit, one of his companions constantly shone his torch into the spirit’s face. While this added to the ghostly impact, it also heightened the audience’s awareness of Hamlet’s isolation in his thoughts at this point. The way in which the death of Polonius was portrayed heightened the distressing impact of that section of the play. As he was killed, a spirit fell down from behind him. The loss of the essential soul was very moving. The later frozen position of the spirits, sustained for some time, enhanced the impact of the tension of the monologue which was delivered concurrently.

The impact of empathy was not greatly enhanced by the live music with a cello and singing. The impression was not one of purity and sadness. There seemed to be little point for the music to be included or to be played live. However, the live fencing competition was very dramatic and tense. The pace of the fight drew in with the main pace of the whole production – quick, lively and vivid.

The careful choreography of the fencing was a great enhancement of the impact of the tension and terror of the fight as the movements were so quick and sharp. The movement of the obelisks for scene changes seemed to be choreographed. While this added to the smoothness of the production, it slowed the pace and lessened the harsh desperation of a scene when the audience saw actors stop and wait for another before moving a piece of the set.

Areas of the design of Red Shift’s Hamlet worked to enhance the impact of the terror of some of the scenes. Changes in costume not only signified a different character, but a change in personality. Making such a change apparent on more than one level enhanced the surprise or shock that the audience could feel. While the more technical side was certainly designed to create an atmosphere, something such as overuse of the smoke machine could reduce the impact of the cold, foreboding scene intended. For some, the simple length of the production meant that they began to look cynically at the play. Things such as the repetitive drumming became predictable rather than loud and exciting. The quick, lively pace of the production enhanced the speed of action and the turmoil of some of the characters’ minds.

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