Interpretation of the Live production 'The Magic Toyshop'

Latest in a line of adaptations of popular works of fiction – this time, Angela Carter’s novel.

Staging

· Levels and shapes dominated. The result was a framework that the actors could climb on, to represent rooms in a house, an apple tree, storeroom and stage.

· A quarter circle frame was set USL on the highest of two large sloped platforms. This frame could be ascended on SL via a perpendicular climb, and SR via the arc of the quarter circle. Atop the arc, a small platform allowed the character of Jonathan to sleep in his ‘bedroom’.

· A curtain concealed the interior of the arc, and this was pulled down to reveal Uncle Philip’s toy store.

· At the start of the play, two rectangular frames represented the windows of Melanie’s house and there was a free-standing doorframe and door with a sunrays motif, perhaps to symbolise the happy innocence of the children at the beginning of the play.

· The lower sloping stage area could be accessed via a small ramp SR and a larger ramp SR.

· On the lower stage was a chest, a rocking chair.

· On the upper stage SR and lower stage SL, were tall arcing ladder-type frames. The SR one was used to represent an apple tree, complete with hanging green apples. The DSL frame was used to hang the frame representing the picture of Melanie’s parents’ wedding photo and a swing. Later it was used to hang Auntie Margaret’s kitchen utensils from.

· The ladder-frames also created the shape of the frame of a ship, the kind that Jonathan was so fascinated with. This illustrates the subliminal way that all of the stage design elements link together to reflect overall concepts.

· The two ladder frames were also connected by a thin wire, from which a gauze curtain was hung for Act Two. This was pulled diagonally across the stage to construct the Leda ‘puppet’ show.

· A trapdoor in the upper stage, allowed characters to ‘descend’ to the toy workshop.

· A door in the side of the upper stage, allowed Finn to hide in the cupboard for a smoke.

Set

· Minimalist

· A frame represented a wedding photo

· A rocking chair represented the family home.

· Uncle Philip’s house was furnished with a table and chairs for ...

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· The two ladder frames were also connected by a thin wire, from which a gauze curtain was hung for Act Two. This was pulled diagonally across the stage to construct the Leda ‘puppet’ show.

· A trapdoor in the upper stage, allowed characters to ‘descend’ to the toy workshop.

· A door in the side of the upper stage, allowed Finn to hide in the cupboard for a smoke.

Set

· Minimalist

· A frame represented a wedding photo

· A rocking chair represented the family home.

· Uncle Philip’s house was furnished with a table and chairs for the characters to sit on.

· The chest was used for the characters to sit on when representing the train and taxi.

· The chest was also Victoria’s bed.

· Small kitchen items hung from the ladder-frames represented Auntie Margaret’s kitchen.

· A small easel and blackboard were used by the mute Auntie to write down her messages.

· Some cardboard boxes represented the toy store.

Props

· Suitcases were used, but doubled up as Melanie’s pillow.

· Victoria had a toy plane which she crashed. Then the audience discovered that the parents had been killed in a plane crash over the Nevada desert.

· Jonathan had a model sailing ship that he had made. This represented his obsession with boats, and is the reason why Uncle Philip favours him. Jonathan also had an extending telescope.

· Cups and spoons were used, but no liquid nor plates and food. Mime and objects were combined.

· Small puppets were used for the show of the ‘nymph’ and ‘Viola and Sebastian’.

· Mrs Bumble had her knitting as a character prop.

Costume

· The period feel was for the 1940’s.

· Melanie is first seen in white vest and pants, to represent her innocence. She has a basic costume of black trousers or floral skirt and a red short sleeve jumper. A dark blue coat and red hat were worn for some ‘outside scenes’

· Melanie also wears her mother’s wedding dress and head-wreath in the opening scenes of the play. Later she is made to wear the white dress of ‘Leda’.

· Jonathan was dressed in white shorts, long white socks and naval shirt to represent his obsession.

· Mrs Bumble was played by a man, and represented with a long black dress and black hat.

· Uncle Philip was dressed like a gangster in black suit, complete with black stick and watch-chain.

· Auntie Margaret wore a simple dress and apron, and plat brown shoes.

· Finn wore worn jeans, tee-shirt and donkey jacket. Later, after his ‘wash’ he wore one of Philip’s white shirts.

· Frances wore shirt and brown corduroy-like brown jacket and trousers. His character was more reserved.

· Victoria wore a little girl’s dress and underskirt, and had a pink bow in her hair.

· Clothing was used symbolically, especially when different clothes were donned by particular characters and when some of the characters took off clothing.

· A notable costume was that of the swan, where the actor playing Jonathan was dressed up as the large swan, with the long neck of the bird supported by a wire around the actor’s head.

Acting style

· Some actors played more than one character, to facilitate the wedding photo section.

· A male actor played Mrs Bumble and made her more of a matronly, humorous character.

· Adults played the young children of Victoria and Jonathan. Attention was played to their speech patterns and mannerisms, especially shown in the initial ‘bread pudding ‘eating scene and when Victoria rolls over the sleeping Finn.

· Melanie and others were involved in narrating the story – narration was mainly, if not completely, in third person. There was no apparent pattern to dictate whether Melanie alone or a group should narrate.

· All actors were used to change the set, and so moved between in role and out of role states.

· Effects were created by the actors making sound effects. The actor playing Uncle Philip was also the cat in the apple tree.

· A dog and cat were created by various actors mimicking the animal sounds.

· Tableaux were used, especially in the train journey, to suggest time-elapsed photography and therefore the passing of time.

· The jerky motions of the taxi were created by the actors moving together in a particular direction.

· Acts of violence perpetrated by Uncle Philip were often slowed down and exaggerated with accompanying exaggerated sounds (the fall of Finn)

· The final conflagration of Philip’s house was accompanied by movement to create the effect of waves moving the character and furniture of the house, and recorded sound effects.

· The performance was one of ensemble, where roles were fluid and could be human, animal or inanimate.

· Effects were created in a manual way, especially the dropping of the white, red and black feathers to represent depression, winter and the attack upon Leda.

Sound Effects

· Many were created by the actors – the cat and dog.

· Recorded sound effects created images of the train, taxi and recurring reference to the plane crash.

· Music was played by Frances to accompany the puppet shows.

· Recorded music was played when the ‘Red People’ played the clarinet and violin.

· SFX of waves accompanied the final scene.

· Recorded music was used during the taxi journey and would increase in volume for brief moments as the actors jerked to represent the lurch of the vehicle.

Lighting Effects

· Lighting was used to isolate the action, especially at the beginning and end.

· A blue wash was used to represent the garden.

· Red gels created the effect of the burning house.

· Flickering lights created the effect of travelling past streetlights during the train and taxi journeys.

Audience Relationship

· The direct audience address from the outset made the audience a necessary and included part of the play.

· Humour in the script also invited laughter which was uninhibited, and only present at the appropriate points.

· The set and effects forced the audience to use its imagination and therefore not remain passive.

· Moments of extreme emotion were ‘distanced’ by the use of narration and so prevented the audience from wallowing in unnecessary sympathy.

Artistic Intention

· The play was structured to make the play a presentation of a story. The narrative was vital to communicate and the use of narration was one of achieving this.

· The style of performance was very theatrical, and relegated any social or political agendum there may be in the text.

· Shared Experience has a style, which is non-naturalistic, and forces the audience to use its imagination to interpret the images presented on stage.

· The production was accommodating the regular fiction reading audience who may know the original work of fiction.