In reference to one production you have seen, explain how the skills of the performers enhanced your understanding of the piece.

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                Ali Cooper

In reference to one production you have seen, explain how the skills of the performers enhanced your understanding of the piece.

I saw the play ‘A Number’ by Caryl Churchill, which was performed at the Royal Court Theatre.  This play is about a man in his early sixties, Salter, who clones one of his sons, Bernard, who is forty in the play.  In the play, we meet Bernard (B1) and also two of the clones, Bernard (B2) and Michael Black, and we watch their separate confrontations with their father, Salter.  All three of the sons are played by the same actor, Daniel Craig. This play is a contemporary piece, and the skills of the performers were very important in understanding the play.

The performers’ voices were well used, as each character’s personality and mood was portrayed in their accent.  This helped the audience to understand the characters better and more easily.  

The character Salter, played by Michael Gambon, was well-spoken.  He spoke with good diction and he enunciated well so that we could hear what was being said, and understand more easily.  Also, his well-spoken voice tells us that Salter is an intelligent man.  B1 spoke with a rough London accent, which shows that he is a ruffian, especially when he is aggressive.  B2 however, was well spoken. This character was intelligent.  He probably went to university and also may have travelled, and this is reinforced by his voice and accent.  Michael Black spoke with a Liverpudlian accent, which is the actor’s own accent. He had a friendly, happy voice, which reflects his friendly, happy personality.  As this accent is the performers’ natural accent, it sounded natural and not forced.  This helps to show that Michael Black spoke in a natural way and did not mind talking to Salter.

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Although the three sons were played by the same performer, each had a different voice which did a lot to help the audience’s understanding and told us something about each clone’s character.

The two performers also used stance to enhance our understanding of the piece.  Their stance helped to show the audience how the characters were feeling.  B1 was constantly slouched which showed aggression which he was usually feeling.  The slouching also showed primitiveness and this was reflected in his desire to kill his clone, B2.  B2 had a very different stance to B1 which helped to show the audience ...

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