The play was about English criminals who had been sentenced to go to Australia and serve their sentence there working to build a 'new world.' The convicts were supervised by officers. The story tells the story of one officer who wants to put on a play; using the convicts as the cast.
The play involved a whole host of characters and every single actor had developed their character and made it their own. For example one actor played a drunk officer who had no lines, all he had was slurred phrases. However I feel that he used that character, with or without lines, and made his actions on stage stick in people's minds. This showed me that no matter how many lines you have, you can still be the 'star of the show.' Every character had their own characteristics and this meant that you focused on everyone, showing also that the cast worked well as a unit; they fed of each other and every single person shone. Some characters also had different accents; Scottish, Devonshire, 'Posh' English and cockney. Everyone with an accent had perfected them and were consistent throughout meaning I wasn't drawn away from the acting on stage.
The set also helped draw your attention to the actors on stage (though you were mainly drawn towards them because of their superb acting.) Downstage was flat and upstage was raised, with the whole stage being the colour of sand. There was a large compass on downstage right which actors used to perform monologues. The set wasn't complicated and it didn't need to be. Other props were brought on and off stage when necessary.
Finally, no matter how good a set is or how good the costumes and props are, a good play needs good acting; and this was a key part of this play. Every character was so unique and refined that no matter who was speaking, I listened. They looked so comfortable on stage, being able to keep up a character and keep up the suspense or humour of a particular scene. I didn't get bored and I was always focused on the story. Each person performed very well and if I can achieve their standard of acting by the time I reach post 16, I will feel that I have achieved something from my time at The Brits.
The only critique I have is that certain scenes should be shorter. Even though the detail was good and added something to the general story line, I feel that particular scenes dragged out and therefore I lost interest slightly, which occasionally affected my view on the next scene. As it was such great acting I believe it deserved full concentration on the audience's part
The set also helped draw your attention to the actors on stage (though you were mainly drawn towards them because of their superb acting.) Downstage was flat and upstage was raised, with the whole stage being the colour of sand. There was a large compass on downstage right which actors used to perform monologues. The set wasn't complicated and it didn't need to be. Other props were brought on and off stage when necessary.
Finally, no matter how good a set is or how good the costumes and props are, a good play needs good acting; and this was a key part of this play. Every character was so unique and refined that no matter who was speaking, I listened. They looked so comfortable on stage, being able to keep up a character and keep up the suspense or humour of a particular scene. I didn't get bored and I was always focused on the story. Each person performed very well and if I can achieve their standard of acting by the time I reach post 16, I will feel that I have achieved something from my time at The Brits.
The only critique I have is that certain scenes should be shorter. Even though the detail was good and added something to the general story line, I feel that particular scenes dragged out and therefore I lost interest slightly, which occasionally affected my view on the next scene. As it was such great acting I believe it deserved full concentration on the audience's part
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