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Introduction

Set design for 'The Long and the Short and the Tall' By Timothy Dry 10R Introduction The Long and the Short and the Tall takes place in Malaya during the Second World War. The patrol in The Long and the Short and the Tall had been sent from a base in Singapore to discover the strengths of the Japanese army as it swept through the jungle towards Singapore. The play explores what happens when the men have to confront with the reality of war. They have the problem of whether they should kill an unarmed Japanese soldier they have captured. The play reveals the reactions of the characters- a Scotsman, Welshman, Tynesider and Cockney. Brief My task is to design the set for 'The Long and the Short and the Tall. I am to design the set for the schoolroom stage. The style of the set The play is set in a miners hut in the Malaysian Jungle. The miners hut has been ransacked apart from a table, a form and two chairs. I can show how it was put up without much care just for a temporary shelter by using old doors, tables etc. I did some research into the Malayan conflict during World War 2 and found a veteran Website that a student had emailed asking for information on the conflict because he was designing a set for The Long and the Short and the Tall. ...read more.

Middle

Whitaker tries to communicate with the base but the radio isn't working very well and he ends up with a Japanese voice speaking to him. The Act ends with the patrol all turning to look at the prisoner as if to say, 'How are we going to get back to the base before the Japanese and with the Japanese soldier. The prisoner, thinking that they are wanting him to entertain them, raises his hands to his head and smiles. Evaluation of initial ideas Set 1 is designed to show the bareness of the hut. There is a window at the back for the men on guard to sit at. It has a slat behind it with jungle scenery on it. It will also have wooden posts painted on to show the veranda. There is a door next to it so that the audience see the Japanese man at the window before he enters at the door. He also needs to be able to see in to see the set. The slats are angled so that the actors don't act behind them out of the audience's sight lines. There is one window in the right-hand slat this is to emphasise the jungle. I think that if there is one in one side there could be another in the other side so that all the audience see a window. ...read more.

Conclusion

I am also going to use and old rickety table to put the set on and to make the hut more realistic. The table will be very simple and temporary so it will not have any carvings or lathed legs. It could even have one leg cut short so it rocks. It must be strong enough to withstand a set and possibly someone sitting on it. I will have two chairs around the table. They will be similar to the table; no frills and they won't be matching. They must be strong though so if they get knocked over in the struggle they won't break. All the furniture will be made from wood of a similar colour to the slats. The table will be about 1.5 meters in length 1 meter wide and a meter high. The chairs will be of a standard size and the form will be the length of the window. The table will be positioned to the left of the window and about 2 meters in. I am going to use a real radio set if possible. If it were not available then I would make one out of some cheap wood. I would use some old headphones for Whitaker to use. Stage measurements The dashed lines represent parts of the stage that are optional. There is the option of more stage blocks but they aren't incorporated in any of my initial ideas. All around the stage will be a cyclorama, which will cover up the walls especially the organ pipes. ...read more.

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