This, to the audience, will seem ridiculous and unnecessary creating a subtle sense of humour. Nearing the end of Act 2 we learn about Viola’s plans for her disguise in order to appear less vulnerable. She then goes on to say ‘thou shalt present me as an Eunuch to him’ which will yet again appear an overdramatic act to the audience. In act 3, Sir Toby Belch is introduced into the play. Shakespeare’s wit and word play used even for simply just the names of the characters can build up laughter.
Venus in Fur is a sensuous, erotic yet sophisticated play by David Ives, directed by Ed Sylvanus Iskanda. The play is currently being held at the DBS Arts Centre – Home of SRT from 15th March to 6th April and it is definitely a chance not to be missed. Venus in Fur is a modern day adaptation of the novella by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose name inspired the term ‘masochism’ – a notion encircling the sexually-charged events that unfold between the playwright, Thomas (played by Anson Mount), and the aspiring actress Vanda (played by Steffanie Leigh), who turns up unceremoniously late (and drenched) for her audition for the lead role in Thomas’s play. On the surface, Venus in Fur appears to be nothing more than that of entertainment value, appealing to the general audience with its spectacle of sounds, lights, non-stop humor and delicious eroticism. Yet upon digging deeper, the savvy viewer would soon realize that Venus in Fur is more than what meets the eye.
Romeo and Juliet Zen Zen Zo’s re-enactment of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet enhances the meaning of the play for those who may not understand the complex language. Zen Zen Zo’s version of this loved tragedy uses three main elements; movement, space and time, to create meaning and engage young audiences. The tragedy tells the story of two young teenagers who fall in love, but can never be together as their families are feuding. The pair end up marrying in secret and lying to their families but their fates are sealed, ultimately resulting in both their deaths. Movement is one of the elements used effectively within this performance, as the actors used all areas of the stage creatively to enhance the meaning of the play.
The first one occurs when the confusion that happens between the lovers. The second type is Romance which included nearly all the characters except Puck (who had no partner) and the third type is satire comedy and an example of this is a play within a play which can be said to be a satire of a bad play. Puck is a fairy as well as Oberon’s attendant; he was ordered many tasks to carry out throughout the play. The mischievous and witty sprite sets many of the play’s events with his magic. , this was both deliberate pranks and accidental mistakes.
At first when he signed on to do The King and I he was under the impression that “he only had to do (that) one ballet” (Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theatre, His Dance, pg 46) but he did end up choreographing many other dance sequences like “Getting to Know You” or “The March of the Siamese Children”. “Robbins planned the scene to delight both Anna and the audience. Some carry out their duties in exemplary fashion, which highlighted the different ones and the tiniest provide a high degree of adorable and some concern they’ll screw up” (Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theatre, His Dance, pg
Both ‘Summer of the Seventeenth Doll’ by Ray Lawler and ‘The removalists’ by David Williamson have explored the different ways people cope when things change or go wrong. Both playwrights use the style of realism to portray themes which depict changing circumstances on the stage and show how different characters respond. Ray Lawler and David Williamson use the techniques of relevant idiom, staging, costume and symbolism, all conventions of realism, to explore the themes of stereotypes, the changing of traditions and violence. In the early 20th century Australia was searching for its national identity. Plays up until this point in time were traditional melodramatic English plays.
Louis Nowra’s popular Australian production, Cosi, directed by David Berthold, portrays the two key contrasting themes of reality and illusion, depicted through a range of dramatic languages. Specifically tension of relationships, characterisation and symbolism. Reality, is first of all revealed within the performance, for instance, with the many characters of Lewis (Benjamin Schostakowski), Julie and Lucy (Jessica Marais). This is shown by the relationships and tension they have among one another during the play. Illusion, is then exposed throughout Cosi with the specific character of Ruth (Jennifer Flowers) amongst others.
Four shows were featured in “Show Business- The Road to Broadway”, including Wicked, Avenue Q, Taboo, and Caroline, or Change. Each production with its own plot and story, which we learn are two very different things. Plot, is the show its self. It refers to the script, and the story that it tells, while the production’s story refers to the road a cast and crew travels while creating and performing a show. Wicked is a musical based off of a novel written by Gregory Maguire, titled “Wicked- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” The Novel corresponded with the ever popular story of the Wizard of Oz, but rather than following Dorothy and Glinda, it followed the life of Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west, and her choices.
How does Shakespeare present the wood as a place of madness? In Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream' we see two important settings explored, the Athenian Court and The Wood, which introduce the somewhat parralell yet differing worlds of the Athenian lovers and the fairies respectively. The Athenian Court, a place of order and emotional managment is in complete contrast to the supernatural Wood, in which laws of physics are defied, "creatures are swifter than the moon's sphere" and creatures can easily fit inside flowers, for example.The behaviour within the wood is by unwritten rule, erratic. The plight between the feuding Oberon and Titania is affecting the climate of the world, the seasons have completely changed because of their actions, for example. It is not only the forest born creatures who suffer the feat of irrational behaviour, as Helena demonstrates.
With each fluctuating scene came varied costumes; whenever the actors sported a different outfit, it was untroublesome for the audience to distinguish the change of scene. The performers dressed in royal garments of purple, gold and crimson to indicate when scenes involved the duke and duchess of Athens: Theseus and Hippolyta. Contemporary clothing was worn to represent the four lovers and the craftsmen (another way in which the Bell Shakespeare company modernised the play). Another modern twist on the play was how the fairies wore black clothing instead of multi-coloured and dainty costumes. With the present fantasy genre centred on dark and