Many talents contribute to the making of a fine play, and in ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD which opened to an enthusiastic full house at the Sydney Theatre Company last Saturday, those talents were clearly visible. The production was seamless, the direction flawless, the set both perfectly functional and satisfyingly inventive, the sound effects appropriate and the lighting (and, at all the right moments, the total darkness) effective.
Director Benedict Andrews maximises the tension on stage by bringing his filmic technique to the production. Video operators on either side of the perimeter of Alice Babbage’s stage film every movement the three actresses make and these images are then beamed onto a large video screen that faces the audience. At times, the screen swaps back to still images of flowers, especially arum lilies- traditionally symbols of death.
Prostitution as a means of empowering women is a contentious notion even now, let alone in 1893 when MRS WARREN’S
Seventeenth Century English poet Alexander Pope wisely wrote, ‘Know then thyself/ presume not God to scan/ the proper study of
THEN. Berlin. 08.12.1978, 11:15 pm. It is over. Dead silence in the audience. As if no one wants to breathe.
Producer: Sydney Theatre Company
Director: Pamela Rabe
Writer: Sarah Ruhl
Stars: Jackie McKenzie, Helen Thomson, David Roberts
Rating:5/5
Caption: Jackie McKenzie listens at the closed door
Photo Credit:Grant Sparkes-Carroll
Season: 7th February- 2nd April, 2011 at the Drama Theatre
Prominent contemporary American playwright Sarah Ruhl chose a great subject, a quirky, little known medical sidelight from history, for her new play ‘In the Next Room or the vibrator play’ and out of it has created a tremendous, often hilarious play from it.
In the late 19th century, some modern thinking physicians were trialling women who were suffering from hysteria by using a new electronic invention, the vibrator! Ruhl has one such a Doctor as the protagonist in her play. Dr Givings (David Roberts) has created a separate room in his family home for his surgery. The play opens with the Doctor taking on a new patient, Sabrina Daldry (Helen Thomson).
