Performance 1

Shakespeare, his wife and the Dog

Throughout my course I will be seeing a lot of different performances so that I can start to understand 'What is Performance?'. 

During a practical session we were told about the different steps that separate Acting from Non Acting. They were the following:

Non-Matrix Performance is when a stage hand becomes involved in the performance but isn't actually performing. For example if a technician walks onto the stage during a performance and fixes a light, this is classified as a Non-Matrix Performance.

Symbolized Matrix is when a performer is bringing something onto stage but are not a character during this time. For example an actor could bring on a chair and then once they are sat on the chair they then become the actor. Symbolized Matrix is when the performing is not acting at the time of the movement.

Received Acting is when the audience acknowledge that people on stage are acting however they do not have any information on the character, just the fact that they know they are acting. For example cast members called 'extras' come under received Acting because the audience know that they are acting, but know nothing about the characters themselves.

Simple Acting is when an actor is portraying a character at the basic levels of acting. So they could be playing a character in a situation doing an action. Simple acting is make believe. This could be described as someone playing charades as charades is close to simple acting.

Complex Acting is when a combination of emotional and physical performance is interacted. This is called layered acting. Layered acting is a build up of all types of acting put together. This allows the actor to create a character that the audience can fully believe in.

These five steps of acting help to differentiate between the performances that are closer to non acting and the performances that are closer to acting. Allowing us to think what makes a performance, a performance. 

Shakespeare, his wife and the dog was very much a complex acting performance. It consisted of two actors throughout the entire performance. These two characters were husband and wife, the performance was all about the struggles of living with a writer like Shakespeare. Although the concept of the performance was very simple, in the respects that there were only two actors and little staging and lighting, the story itself was very thorough and complex. 

Whilst watching the performance i noticed that there were small movements that were kept the same. For example each time the actors sat on the chest down stage left, they always sat on it backwards away form the audience. In my opinion this made the spoken word seem more mysterious then it actually was. The underlying health conditions that were covered in the piece were subtle but made you empathise with both characters.  This piece is not everyones cup of tea but on the scale of acting, this was an extremely in depth and well rehearsed piece that has inspired me to explore the heights of emotions and also to capture the audience with just the simplest of staging. 

Reviews

Reviews of this performance were very positive which is no surprise. The performance was produced by bated breath for the Fringe Festival in 2014 and since has gone on a UK tour because of its popularity. "Wonderfully written and beautifully acted" says Broadway Baby. "A joyous celebration of language" says the list. Positive reviews for a great performance, a great tribute to Shakespeare and i would definitely say this is a performance to watch.