It will be staged across eight Indian cities
Representational Image. (Picture Courtesy: Pixabay)
A reimagined contemporary rendition of William Shakespeare's classic comedy, "Twelfth Night" by London's Filter Theatre will be staged across eight Indian cities, with its debut performance today at British Council here.
The play has been radically cut to appeal to the 21st century audience and includes a rock gig interacting with the sound, music, text and movement, giving the production a fresh and unconventional approach, and making Shakespeare more accessible. "We cut many lines inside the play - lines that were little bit harder to explain to a contemporary audience. We have a lot of sound design, music and composition, but we managed to keep the meat of it, the real narrative of the heart of Shakespeare's play," says Oliver Dimsdale, the artistic director of the play.
For him, Shakespeare's words may be sanctum sanctorum, but he has experimented with the stage presence, making it very casual and intimate for the viewers. "We tried not to go too far off the text, so that what you hear will be more or less exactly Shakespeare's words. But we decided to do it with a rehearsal room static, that's to say with just the musical instruments, equipments, actors and a single costume," Dimsdale says.
Dimsdale, who had directed the first draft of the play for the Royal Shakespeare Company in London at least a decade ago, refrains from using Elizabethan costumes for any of his characters, except the one of Sir Toby Belch. While 10 years ago, the reason for lack of costumes might have been a tight budget, "lack of money has worked for us it seems," he quips.
Dimsdale had played the part of Sir Toby Belch in the initial versions of the play, but Mountview-trained Dan Poole plays the character in the current shows. Another interesting characteristic of Filter Theatre's production is that all actors are on the stage at all points of time, albeit their purpose changes constantly. "We decided we just needed the actors on the stage the
whole time. They would get up from their seats and play a scene and when the scene finishes, they sit sown and play musical instruments as well," Dimsdale says. Fergus O'Donnell who plays the character of Malvolio, finds joy in never having to leave the stage.
He says, "You're never off stage. There is a sort of live feeling to playing. So, you're just not doing your own thing. You're all doing the same great one thing and that's really exciting." For Sandy Foster who plays the character of Feste, the fool, the play is much like a piece of music, with certain high points, and it is the unpredictability that tends to have a lingering effect, making every performance different from the other.
"It is like a piece of music. There are definite points that you got to hit. So, it's really tight. Yet, it feels like anything can happen in any given performance," she says. The interactive nature of the play offers the viewers an experience of what is popularly known as intimate theatre, where the audience becomes a performer as well.
"It is very interactive with the audience. Unlike other shows where they do tend to remain fairly precise, this show is really open and crazy things can happen. You can be up on the stage," Foster says. Filter Theatre's tour across India is a precursor to the forthcoming programme by British Council on the occasion of Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary in April next year.
"Shakespeare Lives," a year-long programme, will celebrate the works of the English playwright across the globe. "Shakespeare is one of UK's greatest icons, and as we approach his 400th death anniversary. We will have a year-long celebration titled 'Shakespeare Lives,'" says Rob Lynes, Director, British Council.
After their performances in Delhi today and tomorrow, Filter Theatre is scheduled to perform in Chandigarh, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa , wrapping up the tour with Mumbai.
( Source : PTI )
Next Story
