Act One (scene one):
The play opens with a bare stage. The back wall is wooden and on it hangs a huge metal medallion, quartered by four black crucifixes, sharpened to resemble swords.
Visually I believe this communicates to the audience the two key themes that are stressed within the play; Religion and Violence, and reflects the idea that through the disagreement of religion within the play, leads to destruction and death.
The fact that the medallion is placed so centrally stresses the idea that it’s dominant and central to the play symbolising significance and represents omnipresence; a religious term that simply means a constant presence.
Act One (scene two):
Valverde enters this scene bearing an immense wooden Christ. Through this visual aid the audience are able to determine what Valverde stands for religiously, this is a perfect example of how through these elements you can understand the play without any dialogue. It portrays an image of something and therefore allows you to recognise the meaning behind it without it having to be spoken. Another visual example in this scene is the character of De Candia. He arrives onto the stage limping. I believe Shaffer did this to make the audience ask questions. For example, one interpretation could be that De Candia is violent and a trouble maker and therefore a limp was the result of a violent act, it could be however symbolising his age and the fact that he has gone through a lot in his life. An aural element in this scene is the over powering organ music being played, representing Spanish celebration and triumph with the idea that religion is the core of the celebration as organ music is tend to be inter-linked to religious a celebration.
Act One (scene three):
This is a visual extravaganza as the medallion opens beaming with a gold glow that spreads across the stage to create twelve great rays. The attention is drawn to the central character Atahuallpa who is standing above everyone else. The aural elements include his voice, strangely formalised. If this were performed I would expect it him to have a slow but bold sound. Chanting and great cries fill the stage and this would give the effect he is heavily respected and worshipped by the Inca people, as he is not involved with any type of chant. This amazing spectacle display of colour, space and sound brings excitement and the audience is not only introduced to a different type of lifestyle and religion, they are also aware of the power Atahuallpa holds.
Act one (scene four):
The stage is filled with the sound of vocal and alarming tropical bird cries as the Indians are trying to avoid being captured. This immediately represents fear and a strong sense of panic. Silence quickly follows this and the contrast between the two atmospheres will leave an effect on the audience raising tension and suspense.
Act one (scene five):
Wild bird cries echo the scene before this. The aural quality in this scene allows that same sense of disturbance and the images set us in a different location with a savage atmosphere. This creates an uncomfortable sense of invasion and an unsettled feeling.
Act one (scene six):
This scene allows a visual experience into moments of the Inca lifestyle through mime portraying their acts of duty out of worship to their god.
Act one (scene seven):
A spacial element within this scene is where the soldiers line up in rank order on the stage. The effect and impact that is achieved from this is that it represents to the audience the order of authority and symbolises relationships between the Spanish army.
Act one (scene eight):
This scene captures many visual, aural and spacial elements within the “mime of the great ascent” Visually it represents the mountains, and the cold blue light symbolises a bad situation creating the frozen imagery of the weather being unbearably cold, also the strong sense of fear, and violence.
Aurally the cold eerie music symbolises a stumbling and torturous climb. Spatially the soldiers are representing the climb with wide movements and reaching to help others as they climb portraying to the audience the challenging experience is bringing them closer and their relationships are strengthening.
Act one (scene twelve):
The mime of the great massacre takes place in this scene to conclude the first act.
This is also another visual, aural and spacial spectacle. Visually there is a wide, rich display of colour. This effect portrays to the audience the vibrant culture and lifestyle of the Inca people. The white and gold band symbolises status, wealth and power. Another Visual aspect is the bloody cloth that is thrown over the dead Inca people at the end of the scene. Through this the audience will recognise the death and destruction the Spaniards have caused and this could cause them to be sympathetic to the Inca’s. The savage music is the aural element within the scene. A drum is continuous throughout the massacre. The dramatic effect being created is simply to build up dramatic tension and suspense as the Incas are slaughtered. The drumming also portrays the Inca’s contrasting culture to the Spaniards. As Pizzaro crowns himself he lets out a victorious cry symbolising how powerful the Spaniards are and through this image the audience can clearly see that Pizzaro has selfishly ripped Atahuallpa of his high status. The last visual element of this scene leaves the audience being focused on the blood stained cloth. This is the final realisation of the destruction and the effect of this is that the imagery will play on the emotions of the audience’s mind and leave clear pictures once the act has ended.
Act two (Scene one):
Atahuallpa performs a lament in monotone, which aurally expresses Atahuallpa grieving for the death of his people. He is also visually shown tied up and bloodstained. This emphasises he has been defeated and portrays the contrast of how the king was and now is.
Act two (Scene six):
“The rape of the sun” contains all three elements within it. Visually this contains the destruction of the set. Showing the Spaniards greed. The soldiers rip the gold from the Indians and the sun is torn apart. This could semiotically symbolise the final destruction of the Inca life. Aurally the Inca’s constantly scream ad groan this emphasises to the audience their physical pain and rapidly growing death rate. Spatially more and more soldiers fill up the stage space representing their power and greed, and the loss of Inca people.
