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First, some context, so you know what on Earth I’m reacting to.
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Five Truths – Victoria and Albert Museum
What are the differences between five of the most influential European theatre practitioners of the 20th century? How would these five directors work with the actress playing Ophelia in the famous mad scene in Shakespeare’s Hamlet? What would they ask the actress to do and how would they ask the actress to behave? -
And now, my reaction.
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“At the @v_and_a, experiencing #fivetruths. Arrived midway through the loop. Correctly identified Brecht, muddled the rest completely.
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“Hanging around now to watch each Truth all the way through. Stanislavski first. #fivetruths
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“The Stanislavskian Ophelia could be a character in Cartwright’s ROAD. #fivetruths
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“Stanislavskian Ophelia’s drowning clearly a choice: she composes & arranges herself, in the bare minimum of water. #fivetruths
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“Not that she looks happy about it – but it feels like a decision nonetheless, not a reaction. #fivetruths
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“Brecht’s Ophelia next. She’s once again deliberate, making herself up like her own undertaker. Very Gestic! #fivetruths
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“Brecht’s Ophelia addresses us directly, of course. Unwavering eye contact. And singing! Love a bit of Brecht. #fivetruths
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“Stanislavski’s Ophelia shows us why she dies. Makes the act tragic, cathartic. Brecht’s tells us. Makes the act an accusation. #fivetruths
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“Out of my comfort zone now. I’ve never studied Artaud, Brook or Grotowski. #fivetruths
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“Already the Artaud version seems quite dependent on the camera angle. Close up through the fishtank. Would it work on stage? #fivetruths
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“Artaud’s the Theatre of Cruelty one, right? Can anyone give me a 140-character crash course? #fivetruths
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“@MattBoothman The idea is that it communicates pre-linguistically, pre-rationally.
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“@MattBoothman Though it would be fair to add that I think Artaud is 85% codswallop.
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“@DanRebellato I think maybe my secondary school drama teachers agreed, and that’s why they only taught Brecht and Stanislavski…
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She took the goldfish bowl off-camera, goldfish and all, and it was never seen again.
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“Brecht-Ophelia and Grotowski-Ophelia are competing, drowning the rest out. #fivetruths
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Brecht-Ophelia does a lot of strident singing. Grotowski-Ophelia wails. Because the underlying structure of the five pieces is the same, these high-energy moments tend to occur simultaneously. Stay in the installation long enough and you get a really strong sense of the rhythm of the template speech.
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“The weird distortion on the camera is distracting me from Terry’s performance as Artaud-Ophelia. #fivetruths
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“The sound is muffled/underwatery too. I don’t understand how this would work as a theatrical style. Feeling a bit ignorant. #fivetruths
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“There’s not much question but that Artaud-Ophelia is mad, plain and simple. #fivetruths
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“On to Brook-Ophelia. Nostalgic. Going through possessions with reverence – saying goodbye. #fivetruths
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See what I did there?
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“She’s back. This time I really get the feeling she doesn’t want to do what she’s going to do. Singing to delay the deed. #fivetruths
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“Brook-Ophelia’s suicide has a tragic inevitability to it – but also a heroic determination to be remembered. #fivetruths
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“Brook-Ophelia’s tidy desk is her combined suicide note / last will and testament / confession. #fivetruths
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“Brook-Ophelia floats but doesn’t drown, her face above the surface. #fivetruths
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“Finally, Grotowski-Ophelia. My brain is saying “Poor Theatre” to me – have I got that right? #fivetruths
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Yes, according to Wikipedia:
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“The Grotowski screens are dark the longest. The rest are humming, arranging possessions … this one’s fashionably late. #fivetruths
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“But wow, what an entrance. Shaking and wailing with despair under the desk. #fivetruths
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“Grotowski-Ophelia is alternately resigned to her fate and railing against it. #fivetruths
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“Five cycles in and Brecht-Ophelia is still demanding my attention, impossible to tune out. #fivetruths
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“Grotowski-Ophelia’s main motivator is grief. She’s utterly defeated by it, yet driven on by it too. #fivetruths
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“Grotowski-Ophelia’s possessions lie abandoned, carelessly discarded. Stillness. She’s nowhere to be seen. #fivetruths
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“…and lights up on her floating face down, the deed carried out *ob scene*. #fivetruths
Five Truths
One Comment to “Five Truths”
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Aha! Storify/Wordpress linking works now. As you were. I’ll be the one in the back room, tinkering.
