Analysis of a physical theatre performance - Under the Influence

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Claire Garrett 10c

Analysis of a physical theatre performance

Play: "Under the influence" conceived and directed by Kate champion. Performed by the 'Legs on the wall' physical theatre group

Date: 7-10-99

Occasion: Theatre visit, year 10 GCSE drama course

Place: Theatre 140, Brussels, Belgium

The theatre was in a plain building hidden from the road by flats. The entrance was very informal. You went in and stood in a small foyer waiting for the performance to start. There were posters up on the walls promoting the 'Legs on the wall' company and there were programmes available. This made me look forward to seeing the play and the pictures made me wonder how each particular pose was fitted into the play. The floor was very interesting. It was painted with some kind of gothic patterned and was very dramatic and bold.

When went into the performance space our entry was informal. We weren't given specific seats and stewards didn't show us to seats. The performance was indoors and the seating was raked. The stage was raised but this didn't seem to make the atmosphere formal. There was a proscenium arch and visible stage lights. The set was very plain, there were corrugated iron boards at the back of the set. There were large lights hanging down into the performance area. These were decorative shapes. Household lampshades of striking colours like orange, red and yellow. This made the atmosphere more exciting and I began to feel very apprehensive. As well as the lighting lifting equipment was on show. This was for a trampoline, which was raised and lowered, as appropriate during the play. At the front of the stage there were also two microphones, one on each side.

There was music playing throughout the play. I noticed this in particularly at the beginning. The music was very rhythmic but unusual. There was a strong beat by some kind of drum and over the top was a very twinkling piano or maybe even a flute. This was a very unusual mix of sounds and was very unexpected so added to the atmosphere by bringing a sort of eerie element.

The performers themselves were on stage when we entered and the curtains weren't closed. There were wearing 'gym clothes' (cycling shorts and leotard tops). When I walking they were practising some amazing moves, showing off there amazing strength and sense of balance. The house lights were dimmed very slowly over about a five-minute period so you hardly noticed the difference until it was almost completely dark apart from the stage lights. The performers practising lulled me into a false sense of boredom as I found myself sitting there saying, is this it? This is so boring.

It was hard to pinpoint when the play started as the performers carried on doing what I took to be practising and then they started to talk. They were directing the others and changing bits. At first I thought that this was a sort of pre performance sort out but then they started having an argument. They walked up to the microphones and started to carry on their argument over the loud speakers. This was when people began to accept that the performance had started and there was hush in the audience. The actual performance though had actually started when we walked in.
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The themes of the play were very subtly introduced. They were about, love, life, sex and relationships. There was also an element of peer pressure and also a stereotype reversal and promiscuity.

The stereotype reversal came in when a woman was very pushy and forced a man to have sex and then just threw him aside and went on to the next. This was not what is usually expected. In our society you would expect the man to be pushier and force himself on the woman and then ignore her afterwards so this was quite unexpected. The ...

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