Assess the contribution of set and lighting to

Authors Avatar

Khushwant Bhakar 12Jr

Trestle Theatre’s “The Smallest Person” by Timothy Knapman, is a story that leads the audience to questions medical ethics. It is set in both 1824 in Georgian England and modern day England, where it tells the story of Charlie, an ill boy who is missing. His sister Laura knows where he is; but she will only tell the authorities where he is through the story of Caroline. Measuring only 191/2” tall 8 year old Caroline Crachami was a celebrity of her time, paraded around the fashionable salons of London by a travelling showman, she became the darling of Georgian England. However when she died an unseemly scramble ensued for her body, her parents wanted her buried, the scientists wanted her studied.

I watched this piece at Cambridge University’s Mumford Theatre on the 13th of October 2004 with my theatre studies class. I chose this piece for my essay because it was a Trestle theatre production, which focuses on mask theatre. The uses of masks generally have a lack of facial expressions in mask theatre, causing the set and lighting to be heightened, ideal for this essay.

Join now!

In this essay I shall assess the play in regards to the contribution of set and lighting.

The stage featured a proscenium stage and the set was designed by Tim Meacock and resembles this diagram,

The set had a very contemporary style; this was because of the use of light wood and white boards that the set was made of, hardly traditional materials for the design of a set.

The set itself contributed greatly ...

This is a preview of the whole essay