Chris Sivewright (who is co-producing Heir of The Dog with
me) has asked me to occasionally contribute to this blog discussing the
progress of the show so far.
I am finding this blog a lot harder to write than I had
thought…
I do not wish to write about the shows themselves on the
most basic level, such as what the three shows are which Heir of The Dog
consists of (Call on Me, Circles and Wonder) or when and where it is on (7.30pm
at The Dogstar in Brixton, from 7.30pm, all three pieces on each night, Tues 20th,
Wed 21st and Thurs 22nd Nov 2012) or the price (£5, of
which 50p goes to The MS Society) as that would feel too much like an advert.
A brief description of the plays, including the theme of
“God” and the actual plots, should be saved for the press releases, and a
lengthier description would spoil the plot. Theatre should be full of
surprises, be it for completely new plays, pieces in development (such as
these) or an established piece.
Expanding on that last point, most people know what happens
in Hamlet, but won’t necessarily know how a specific company might approach it,
which cuts may be made, which personality traits will be played up, which
themes may be reflected in the set, how the well-trodden speeches will be made
fresh… the list is endless.
I am loath also to spoil the magic of theatre, even for
those in the know. I would suggest that every single person (actor, director,
designer, writer, assistant, techie…) goes about theatre slightly differently,
both in theory and in practice. The same
person, with the same job title, in a different production – even of exactly the
same play- would still have a different approach each time. Therefore, although
sometimes I feel discussions about “process” are necessary, I feel that no-one
need ever understand the full way one specific show was created, unless they
were involved. Even then, I don’t feel
everyone in a show need (or even could) understand every last detail, myself
very much included.
Hugh Allison, Director
No comments:
Post a Comment