Girls and Dolls – Evaluation
On 25th of March I went to see an A2 drama performance of an adaptation of ‘Girls & Dolls’. The Irish play was seen to be a comic tragedy, both the comedy and tragedy themes kept the audience on the edge of their seats. I thought the adaptation was excellent and it definitely fulfilled the high expectations I had of it. The adaptation was credible and realistic. Claire is acted out by Hayley Kemp and Kirsten McLennan and Emma is acted out by Antonia John and Leila Evans.
The play was set in 1980 and was the summer they met at the swings, the summer they built a tree house. Now in their thirties, Emma and Claire struggle to come to terms with the devastating chain of events that began that summer, to understand what they did, what they became and how they were judged. I felt the adaptation had a huge emotional impact on me through the lead up of suspense and tension that the actors portrayed through setting, lighting, special effects and of course, the plot.
The drama performance was set in a traverse staging where the actors had to perform 1800. This was highly effective as it created an intimate atmosphere and suited the adaptation as it was well suited to scene of confrontation when Emma confronts Claire about being obsessed with the family. As audience and actors shared the same space; brought a lot more audience involvement to the piece. The stage was set into two main areas, the park and the café, however at times the centre stage was also either Emma’s or Claire’s house. Being a traverse staging did have its disadvantages, actors were in difficult situation when facing the audience so we could only ever saw half of them or none of them. Just as you’re straining to hear an actor faced away from you, they turn full-force your way; or, in reverse, mid-speech there’s a sudden disconnection as they turn away. It’s near fatal in a play focused on details of a relationship uncovering the past.