Skellig
I got the chance to watch the play “Skellig” at the Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham. The play is about Michael, a boy who has to cope with a house move, a newborn baby sister fighting for life and old Skellig, the ungrateful, arthritic tramp discovered in the garage of the new house who is also thought to be an angel. In this essay I will talk about how the actors used the stage, voice and movement to show the characters’ feelings and emotions throughout the play.
The play begins with the family’s first day at the house. The towering spiral of junk that depicts the house from basement to attic is used for every scene in the play. If looked at in detail, the spiral of junk would’ve included: an old freezer; piles of old newspapers and books; cardboard boxes; old furniture and ripped up clothes. The whole set was just dark browns, darks blues and dark greens which portrayed the gloom of the play. The first one to enter the scene is Michael. Whilst he does a monologue that tells his story so far the rest of the cast pick up instruments to play the music and effects during the monologue. This perhaps portrays the closeness of the family on which the play is based because everyone is on stage at that part of the play. It added a contrast of cheerful music to the dark set and it also included the audience in the play. Michael's voice changes as he begins to talk about his sister. He speaks with a nervous tone of voice as he begins to move very carefully, suggesting perhaps that his sister needs very gentle care at the moment. His father tries to repair and clean the danger-filled garage as best he can which includes a horrible toilet. However, the garage is so wrecked that Michael's father warns him not to go inside. His tone of voice, at that moment, is louder but only shows an attempt to threaten his son and not to suggest that he has power over Michael because later on in the play Michael goes into the garage regardless of his father’s warning.
