Lights On Lights Off
Shakespeare North Playhouse
As part of their programme to celebrate The Bard’s birthday, Shakespeare North Playhouse’s production of Lights On / Lights Off is a remarkable exploration of The First Folio. Utilising Elizabethan style rehearsals, local actors, and improvisation, Lights On / Lights Off is a production made up of a scene from each of the 36 plays that make up The First Folio; 18 of them with the theatre lights on, and 18 of them by candlelight with the theatre lights off.
Without a doubt, this is an ambitious production. Prior to the start of the performance, Ben Crystal explained the ‘quick raise’ technique that had been used to produce Lights On / Lights Off. During the Elizabethan period, Shakespearean actors would create cue scripts which would contain their cue and their lines, rather than copies of the entire scripts. The main Shakespearean troop worked together extensively, so they could predict each other’s movements without the need to rehearse exactly what each person would do on stage. This meant the time from Shakespeare completing the script to performing was massively reduced.
Crystal adapted this technique for the Lights On / Lights Off ensemble by having them spend 5 days together examining movement and the space within The Cockpit Theatre. They were then each encouraged to select a role that they felt resonated with them and produce their own cue scripts.
For the production we saw of Lights On / Lights Off, the 9 plays selected were:
- Henry V
- Richard II
- Hamlet
- Titus Andronicus
- Henry IV Part 1
- Henry IV Part 2
- Merry Wives of Windsor
- As You Like It
- Cymbeline
The performance was part of the Lights On selection, so all of the house lights remained on.
Without a doubt, this was one of the most interesting, unique, and outstanding performances of Shakespeare we have ever seen.
Each of the actors, some of whom said this was their first ever professional production, were exceptional. The choices they made for the characters they portrayed were fascinating.
There were two stand out performances for us.
One was the scene selected from Hamlet. Two of the actors were playing Ophelia, and used their combined voices with different delivery techniques to show Ophelia’s mental deterioration. Apparently, the previous night there had been three people playing Desdemona to a similar effect which we would have loved to see.
The other stand out performance was Mariana Pires and the choices she made in her portrayal of Dr. Caius. Her decision to appear from the stalls, wearing tap shoes and clambering onto the stage was absolutely genius.
Our only complaint about this entire production was that we only bought tickets to one of the shows. We feel like we have hugely missed out on an opportunity to see something special. Each of the performances was entirely unique and will never be repeated. We feel lucky that we saw the performance that we did, but wish we’d been to all of the other shows.
We really hope that Shakespeare North Playhouse put on another Lights On / Lights Off event, as this was a fantastic show.
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