The cast had another role to play once of the actual stage as they played the instruments that where clearly on show to the whole audience. The musical instruments where rather old fashioned rather than modern electrical instruments. I think that this audio was used to create the setting of the play as electrical instruments would bring it too much into the future. The atmosphere of the cast being on the stage playing the instruments again gave the stereotypical village atmosphere. This atmosphere being how village people are a close-knit community, working together at every possible opportunity. The way that the cast worked closely with each other to show a bond made it clear to the audience how much of a loner Silas Marner is. When he appeared on stage the cast sat down at the edge of the stage, not much music was played when he appeared on stage and if it did it was only a low deep moaning tone this made it clear to the audience that Silas is the outsider, as the cast sat on the outside of the stage. The lack of music too made the atmosphere colder and obviously lonely, as the cast weren’t there, playing any music.
The music in any performance is important in any piece of theatre. In Silas Marner the music created the correct atmospheres needed in the play that props didn’t do. The staging couldn’t really create an atmosphere, as the stage is very open plan with minimalist props. The music was also used in the play to pass the time; Christmas music was played briefly by the cast, which showed that timer has passed. This is a very clever technique and something that is very easily recognised. Several instruments where used at different times in the play to symbolise time, as Christmas hymns where sung bells accompanied the music. Bells has conations with Christmas, by using bells the audience knew that the subject was Christmas.
As well as music lighting was used efficiently to create representation and atmosphere. As mentioned before the director had the job of making the audience aware at the start of the play that silas’s main love in life is gold. This is shown through lighting. The stage for Silas’s home is shown through an old tin pot hanging from a stand, which we assume is used for a fire and his cooking. The rest of the stage is bare and the lighting is virtually non-existent. The stage is dark and grey which has connotations of the cold and lonely. When Silas looks at his gold a warm bright glow of gold is shone through the stage. The orange/yellow glow tells the audience that he is looking at gold, the use of the bright light in the middle of a dark room shows how much he loves his gold. With religious representation the strong bright 2light” is used to show how much he loves the gold. Aldo the light filtered from the position of the gold, was reflected around the room, which showed his gold fills his life his home. During the performance several character changes took place; this is where one actor plays more than one character in the play. All of the changes where cleverly done and I think that it has a significance to the play. As the play is set in a small village and as previously mentioned villages are know for being a close knit community. Character changes really emphasises this as they are so close they become each other. One of the main characters is the child that was found and becomes Silas Marner’s daughter Eppie. The actress that plays Eppie does the most character changes in the play. She starts of being a simple peasant girl; this is simply represented by a stereotypical peasant outfit. The most significant characters that she plays are obviously Eppie but she also plays Eppie’s mother, who dies. One is shown the mother wearing rags, carrying a baby struggling through a storm, created by music and lighting. The woman collapses on the floor, she sheds her rags and leaves the scene as the baby. The idea of using the same actress as the child and mother was cleverly decided as this creates a connection between the two. Also it is common that mother and daughter look the same. The rag that covered the mother that she shed can represent pain and cold, and by shedding it, t shows the audience that she has died. The colour of the rag which was a deep grey has connotations of cold and death. The baby is represented by a piece of cloth in which the actor who was holding he baby at the time through the cloth around the arm and held their arm like a baby. The actress that played the mother now followed the baby around and created the audio of a young child. The crying of the baby created by the actress made it clear to the audience that the cloth actually was the baby; the actual actress herself was ignored on stage by the other actors. The actress at this moment could be playing a variety of roles she still could have been the mother, looking over her child. The cloth that had represented the baby was later wrapped around the actresses shoulders to show that she is now the older version of the child. As mentioned before Silas’s house was a dark, empty place and I believe that this reflected his life. The audience needed to see how much Eppie had changed his life, this was done by adding some extra pieces of furniture and by using warm colours for the lighting such as yellow and orange. These colors had been previously used for Silas’s gold, by using the same colours now surrounding his home the audience knows that Silas loves his daughter as much as he loved his gold. The lighting suggests that Silas’ love for Eppie is for fulfilling than his love for gold. This is because the strong light from the gold didn’t fill his home whilst when he is with Eppie the lighting floods the room.
The large cyclorama with an imprinted sky on it enlarges the shadows of the actors. The shadows became very powerful when there was only one person on the stage, At the moment when one of the higher class Cass brothers steals Silas’s gold, his shadow became almost like his conscience watching him. The shadow is also used in one part of the play as a mirror and the shadow the reflection. This is significant to the character that looks in the mirror as it is Dunstan Cass, who steals Silas’s gold. The use the shadow being his reflection tells the audience maybe that he has a darker side, symbolized through the shadow. The play uses minimalist setting which reflects the loneliness of Silas at the beginning of the play. The minimalist setting and props creates need for mime. Mime is used throughout the play several times one of the mot poignant moments is when Dunstan is riding a horse. Obviously it would be impossible to use an actual horse on the stage and it would be difficult using a fake horse. Dunstan mimes the horse very well and makes it clear that he is riding a horse, by carrying out stereotypical moves for example whipping. Silas’s occupation is a weaver; Silas mimes his machine again with a variety of easily recognizable moves. It is imperative that Silas mimes his machine as at the beginning of the play Silas’s only priority is his job so it is relevant that he should be his machine. One becomes aware of how the setting changes and expands as Silas is taken in to the community towards the end of the play. The penultimate scene shows Eppie getting married the stage is filled with all the cast. Everybody facial expressions of the cast where happy and the marriage seemed to bring everyone together. A marriage is here two people are joined to become one family, I think that this marriage seen was also showing that Silas had been accepted into the family of the villagers. The last scene shows the villages dancing around a maypole. All of the ribbons are colourful and have connotations of happiness. The ending of the play is a complete contrast to the beginning this shows how Silas has now been accepted. The fact that Eppie’s wedding shows the acceptance reminds one that Silas has been accepted due to Eppie changing his life.
