Realism Review
In Realism, Paul Galloway creates a world that is a product of its time and place. It is a play that utilises a range of stagecraft elements and theories that make it very unique and different. The Melbourne Theatre Company staged Realism in the Sumner Theatre. It is a play about the ways in which any authoritarian regime that places restrictions upon freedom of expression, particularly in the area of the arts, cause great unrest amongst artists and actors alike. Set in the Soviet Union in 1939, the performance follows the story of Glemov, a football goalie hired to play the role of Stalin himself in a play being written for their leader’s 60th birthday, titled ‘Man of Steel’. The play follows Glemov, as well as the other charactersthat are introduced slowly, and we are acquainted with their personalities. Through their stories, and their experience in acting, we find that they all have impressive egos, and perhaps long for the old days when theatre was more appreciated and diverse in nature. Their director, is extremely late, and as the play progresses and we learn more and more about the lives and stresses that each character is put under, we are confronted with the idea that perhaps the director has been ‘snatched’ as Meyerhold had been. This puts them all into panic and fear, what if they are next? One of the most prominent features in Realism is the stark change in set and characters then illustrates Meyerhold’s biomechanical techniques, showing different plays and methods but overall showing the amazing ability that was required to perform Meyerhold’s bio-mechanical acting style. The movements of the body, the music that contribute to the atmosphere all helps this change be all the more confusing and shocking. Their hatred of Stalin and how he has killed all artistic freedom and creativity is expressed in this section, when they symbolically hang Glemovin a cathartic ritual. The director then enters, and we find that they all panicked for nothing, however we have learnt much about the theatrical situation that was happening at this time. The style of Realism is one that follows its title, however it also contains several non naturalistic elements. This is established by the way in which Glemov utterly strips down any conceptions of the stage, lifting what seems to be a heavy piece of machinery as soon as he enters. Even the ‘brick walls’ are shown to be curtains as he walks onto the set of the play that opened the night before ‘Precision Milled’ .. The style is however changed starkly during the play within the play. The small sections, such as ‘a scene from Macbeth’ and other demonstrations of bio-mechanics completely change the style, we are witness to Meyerholdism and gain insight into the past and how Meyerhold and his wife were taken/killed. The style is also influenced by the disjointed time sequences within this section of the play, and the breaking of the fourth wall, which extends to include the back of the auditorium. There was a complete stage change during the second half and this change involved the whole area being presented, including backstage. The realistic set was flown out and a constructionist set was set – some flown in, and hydraulic ramps emerge from the floor and are wheeled in the actors. This was a really effective for the purpose of the play, it showed how the characters were being boxed in by Stalin. Realism is employed throughout the play, however with elements of emphasised movement being practised in the play. Biomechanics is also demonstrated, and the mixes between these two conventions were tied in directly to the plot and made the audience actually see the differences between the two styles, especially in the way the body was used. Realism also included reoccurring symbols and messages which helped form repetition to really emphasise the key points of the play. The colour of red was established as a symbol of communism, and the slogans of Stalin’s conveyed the uniformity of this society. These symbols and signs tied into the script effectively in order to convey the way in which the characters lived their lives, in fear. Symbolism was employed in realism to show the characters in more depth, as well as to reiterate important messages about Meyerhold. Bio mechanics contained a largely visual element, with the body movement and gesture communicating along side with the words that were being said at this moment of the play. The plot was largely imparted by text, however characterisation was more reliant on the actor’s movements, their body language towards each other, their gestures and their little habits that were distinct to them. Nadia demonstrates this, her extravagant attire conveying her personality and how it is a big part of this theatre group. Creative decisions are important in influencing how the script is interpreted by an audience and I believe that Realism realized the author’s intention through the way in which these decisions embellished the audience’s understanding of plot, messages and characters. The set was a perfectly logical set for a play set in a factory. The actor’s were rehearsing on stage, on the set of play that had opened the night before contrasted nicely to the different styles of realism and Meyerholdism. This showed the audience that yes, they were watching a play- the bricks weren’t real, and this was made noticeable through the text. The lighting was fairly neutral for the most part of the play, fitting with the realistic nature of acting, almost in a Brechtian style with bright theatre ‘worker’ lights flooding the stage. However this changed starkly during the Meyerhold section, the lights made the movement and action seem very powerful and important and even scary to an extent. Similarly, the set was fairly simplistic for most of the play, and this dreq a lot more focus onto the characters, yet once again the set played a larger part in the change of style, the sharp angles emphasising the movements of the actors’ bodies. To enhance the audience’s emotions and understanding of the play, music was utilised occasionally to show certain messages. This was most notably during the biomechanics, the music building atmosphere and mood to be very tense and tentative. Bio-mechanics was enhanced by the use of music in realism, the music helping to impart more meaning to the movement. Realism had a distinctive actor audience relationship, for although the actors spoke towards us, we were never accepted as a live audience, instead as an auditorium of empty seats. The way in which certain characters such as Kamev come forward on the stage and address the audience is a clever way in which characterisation is aided, that he is always ‘performing’ and the actor audience relationship is further established through this. The characters of the play were mostly speaking to each other, there were few monologues and the text was largely dialogue based. But this changed one again in the second half of the play. During the Macbeth segment, there was heightened language, as was the other Meyerhold sections and these all expressed complex ideas and important messages in the play. Realism otherwise has language that is largely dialogue based, but the silences within the play are also just as important in the way that they contribute to the tense mood that settles over the entire play. The conflict within Realism differs from scene to scene. At many points the drama exists as a result of relationships between the characters, therefore making it character driven; however there are equally moments when as a result of an event, the play becomes action driven. An example of conflict is between Kamev and Yakonova, the two actors arguing about taking focus from the main actor in a play. Comparatively, when Yakonova runs in crying ‘murder’ we are faced with drama that has occurred because of action. These contrasts between action and character driven scenes allow the play to retain the audience’s interest for there are many intertwining stories existing on the stage. There is constant tension as we observe characters who are in fear of their lives at all times. An important aspect of Realism as previously noted is the way in which they are all affected in some shape or form by the regime that they live under. As the play progresses, the characters change their throughline, allowing new surprises and information to come into light and therefore adding extra dimensions to the audience’s understanding and interest. This is seen in the ways that as time advances and their director has still not arrived, we see the ways in which slowly, each character becomes more and more tense and shaken. Their involvement in events an their psychological state allow the audience to gain insight into characters and furthermore, into just how the regime affects these people. Keeping in mind the importance of the characters as they drive much of the action and provide the twists and surprises within the play, the way in which the actors expressed themselves is important to note within Realism. Body language, movement, gesture, and tone of voice all contribute to the character’s development and, in turn, the audience’s understanding of each character as different individuals. For example, the playwright Babelev allows the audience to understand his inner turmoil and stress at the time through his movements and actions on stage. His tone of voice, often escalating when he becomes overwhelmed by worry, and movements around the stage that are erratic somewhat similar to the Laban effort action of slashing, allow the audience to further understand his state of mind. This is similar for all the characters, each possessing different ways in which they talk, sit, and move about the stage. Realism contains many elements that I have witnessed before, such as the Proscenium Arch Stage (in Wicked, Poor Boy.) These similarities however are all very different, as they all use the space very differently, and the differences in set however on the same form of staging allow me to understand the scope for uniqueness in theatre. The non naturalistic set is similar to that in Poor Boy, for even after the set has been established as a real space, there are actions and words that strip down these conceptions. This is apparent in Poor Boy when characters run through what we were led to believe was a wall, and in Realism, the way in which Glemov picks up the ‘machinery’ and points out that the brick walls are not real, he demonstrates the wonder of a person who is exposed for the first time to the ‘illusion’ of theatre. An ‘illusion’ that Meyerhold and Brecht who he influenced were determined to undermine. This allows the audience to understand that they are watching a play, and that although they are employing Stanislavski acting techniques, the set contrasts to this.
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