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George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist born in 1856. He wrote over sixty plays inducing ‘Man and Superman’, ‘The Perfect Wagnerite’, ‘An Unsocial Socialist’, ‘Pygmalion’ and ‘Saint Joan’ and won a Nobel price for literature in 1925. He grew up in a  household with tremendous financial struggles and lived most of his life in poverty. 

Influenced by Henrik Ibsen, he seeked to introduce a new realism into English language drama, using his plays as a means to spread his political, social and religious ideas.Bernard Shaw had a tremendous influence on Western theatre, culture and politics, which extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. 

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These pictures are creations of Shira Barzilay. I stumbled upon these couple of photos on Instagram and found them very intriguing and creative. What really impresses me in the pictures is the artist’s ability to create and find inspiration in everyday life and objects while using the world as her canvas. By observing her surroundings, connecting lines and drawing more illustrations, she manages to create a very unique and innovative artistic signature. What I found really extraordinary is how prominent storytelling is in these pictures as well as how many different interpretations it allows the viewer to give. Similarly, in theatre storytelling is one of the most fundamental elements, and opening the performance to interpretations is for me what makes a theatre performance monumental. By giving the audience the opportunity to give their own interpretation to what they are viewing allows them to personally connect and come closer with the performance and play. Overall, I also find these pictures great examples of how inspiration can be found all around us, in every day occurrences and even in the most mundane places. 

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''All's Well That Ends Well''

William Shakespeare 

‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ is a comedy play written by Shakespeare, that was first published in 1623. The play narrates the story of a one-sided love between Helena and the unloving Bertram. Bertram claims that he will only accept Helen if she obtains his ring from his finger and becomes pregnant with his child. She then goes to Italy disguised as a pilgrim and suggests a 'bed trick' where she will take the place of Diana, a widow's daughter whom Bertram is trying to seduce. Helena’s trick in the end will work, living Bertram no other option but to be her spouse. However the reason I am posting this play is not because of its context, but purely because if the title’s meaning. ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’, stands for no matter what has happened in order to obtain a desire, if the outcome is satisfactory, then it  compensates for any previous difficulty or unpleasantness. The meaning of this play is one that really resonates with me, and I find it truly important to remember that all that matters is the result of a gesture. When we are under the process of trying to achieve a goal, it may seem as if the goal is unreachable and the process unbearable. But when we are to recall a certain milestone in our lives that we are proud of, all we remember is the success but not the process we went through; which goes to show that all’s well that end’s well. 

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I'm Not Running | Interview with the director

'The play addresses the question - how do we make the world a better place?'Director Neil Armfield on his production of David Hare's new play, I'm Not Runnin...

‘I’m Not Running’ is a play that was first performed in 2019, in National Theatre, directed by David Hare. The play narrates the story of Pauline Gibson, a junior doctor, who becomes the face of a campaign to save her local hospital.As media and public pressure mounts on Pauline to run for leadership of the Labour party, she faces an agonising decision. The play explores politics and the position of each individual to make decisions that will make the world a better place. I find this to be particularly important for the theatre of the 21st century, to target social issues, since every art can have an impact on social matters. By viewing theatre as a means of education and spreading awareness, everyone can contribute on being active in society despite their profession.  

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These are paintings by the Japanese artist Suguru Tanaka Aka Guru. With saturated reds and oranges, depth, symmetry and architectural buildings Tanaka Aka Guru manages to create a very specific artistic signature. I find these paintings to be extremely captivating, mysterious and creepy. When thinking of a performance with these aesthetics, I think ‘Doctor Faustus’ would be a extremely applicable play. With its magical, supernatural and ambiguous character, these are the aesthetics that would most likely represent these themes. With these nonhuman creatures that could represent Lucifer or the devils in hell and the red and dark places representing hell. This goes to show how inspiration and mood board ideas can come from practically anything. 

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DV8 Physical Theatre | Can We Talk About This? : Ann Cryer

In this scene from 'Can We Talk About This?' the performer plays Ann Cryer, the first politician to raise issues of forced marriage in the Houses of Parliame...

Physical theatre is a type of performance where physical movement is the primary method of storytelling, it often has little or no dialogue, as the movement is the main focus of the performance. Physical theatre performers always aim to provide a more immediate and direct theatre experience. Performing physical theatre gives performers the opportunity to use and combine many techniques; to express themselves, not solely through acting or dance, but through a diverse range of art forms.Some of the key features of this genre are balance, movement, control, shapes, space, levels and gestures. Actor may often represent animals, objects or other sort of props instead of using the prop itself. Physical theatre has the potential to become very emotionally intense since body language has a way of transcending feeling and thoughts in ways that words often can not obtain.   

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Robert Wilson is an American experimental theater stage director and playwright that has had a tremendous and revolutionary impact on theater. The principal elements around his performances revolve around is light. While keeping the stage relativity minimalist and simple, Wilson always used light to demonstrate his artistic signature. The way he approaches a performance has a very specific pattern. When it comes to the actors, he directs their delivery to be with very slow and delicate movements. Wilson has declared that his role as the director is not the interpretation, for which only the public can obtain that role. He himself says ‘I give you time and place to think’; which perfectly defines his style. Wilson creates a space so minimalist and clear, which inevitably leads the viewers to reflect, to explore what the story is narrating and what are the themes that are being targeted.  

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Prodigal Son: Someone Saw Me

Performances begin January 19, 2016 off-Broadway at NY City Center Stage I.http://prodigalsonplay.comProdigal SonWorld premiere play written and directed by ...

In 2016, Broadway NY premiered ‘Prodigal Son’ , a play written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, which starred Timothee Chalamet. In this clip Chalamet’s delivery reaches a climax which is incredibly emotional and showcases his extraordinary acting skills as a young actor. Through his detailed mannerisms, unstable tone in voice and facial expressions, he manages to perfectly deliver his part and allure and captivate the audience. What I find demonstrates the climax his performance reaches, is the shift on the audience’s reaction. While at first the viewers seem to be laughing, after a few minutes of his delivery the audience is completely silenced. This goes to show the significance an actor has on the unfoldment of a play and how it be showcased through the performance. 

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Born in 1882, Edward Hopper was an American realist painter and printmaker, that used oil paint, and water-colorist as his primary materials. Hopper was a man with a relatively mundane life, he worked a simple office job and painted in his free times, even thought most of the time struggled with creative burnout and artistic block. Hopper also had a quite troubled and abusive marriage that ended with a messy divorce. I find these bits of information about Hopper incredibly significant when reading his art. If not all, most of his paintings consist of a man and a woman miserably facing away from each other. Others consist of one singular man or woman that expressionlessly look into the distance with a slight frown. His color palette consists of both cold and warm saturated tones which set the mood of each painting. It is quite obvious that his life is reflected in this paintings and that his broken marriage defined his artistic career. Similarly in theatre, director Elias Kazan is one of the dramatists that correlated his work with his personal life. Being an immigrant and longing for a sense of belonging, Kazan always took up movies that revolved around matters of discrimination and racism. He himself confessed that he felt as though he better directed when he could personally resonate with the themes of the movie. This brings up the matter of how personal life affects an artists productions and how their troubled lives can become art works. Many argue, that if artists had not gone through hard patches of their lives then some of the best pieces of art would not exist, and that eventually great art stems from suffering. While I do find that statement to be somewhat true, since some use art as a way to cope, I don’t think that struggling in life is necessary for creating great art or that it will create great art. Nevertheless, it is incredibly interesting to observe how an artist’s life can shape their artistic signature and how it reflects their inner self.  

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“...who shall measure the heat and violence of a poet's heart when caught and tangled in a woman's body?”

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

‘A Room of One’s Own’ is an extended essay, written by the Virginia Woolf, first published in 1929. ‘A Room of One’s Own’ grew out of a lecture that Virginia Woolf had been invited to give at Girton College, Cambridge in 1928. The central idea of this work regards all the beautiful and intellectual minds of women that humanity was deprived of, due to their suppression. She takes on the topic of women’s involvement in art and literature and stating that ‘ “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction’’. Although it’s a simple and comprehensible idea, to this day many argue that the reason why there aren’t any significant female figures in the arts, - or any department for that matter-, is because women lack in creativity and intellectuality compared to man in order to compose recognizable works. However, Woolf takes on to say, that when a woman has been consistently stifled in the position of a caregiver and has not been provided of the primary material and a space (a room), to flourish as an artist, to produce work, then it is simply impossible to generate art. Even in the rare case, given that period of time, that a women was exposed to and stimulated by art and the material needed, even if she managed to produce her own work, the possibilities of her being recognized and not overshadowed by a man, where very slim to non existent. Similarly, in theatre, the dramatists that are consider to be the greatest are male, and that’s not to say that there not, but to think about all the equally wonderful and intelligent women dramatists that their names failed to be printed in history books, and whose plays failed to be performed due to societal norms, is heartbreaking. ‘A Room of One’s Own’ is considered one of the greatest feminist polemics of the century, and while I do find it extraordinarily feminist, I think that Woolf did not aim to to produce something activistic when she wrote it, but simply to grief for all the women that never got a chance to express their thoughts and offer something to this world, something to mark their presence that could be admired by later generations, all in the name of discrimination.  

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This is a post dedicated on the art of Wes Anderson. Born in 1969, Wesley Wales Anderson is an American filmmaker, producer and writer. Anderson is a dramatist that primarily focuses on the aesthetics and cinematography of a movie, rather than the plot or the climax. This however does not mean that Anderson’s movies lack of a plot or story telling, but when taking a first look at his work, his directing is undoubtedly the first element that the viewer will notice. Each of his movies consists of a specific color palette, with varying shades and tones, to set the mood and provide a very specific feel for the movie. His shots are always well-planned and detailed; all of the shots connect like a puzzle and blend seamlessly with each other. This is mainly achieved through narrating one continuous idea as shots change but also through the consistent symmetry that Anderson seems to have an exhibiting appreciation for. His movies have a very specific time and place, even when they are not defined or openly declared, Anderson’s aesthetics never fail to transcend the viewer in the area and era the movie is taking place. As for his stories, even though not intense or complex, there is always a concept and a theme that is being targeted. There is a simplicity that surrounds his stories, some may even argue that his intense aesthetics leave no room for a plot, but in actuality, he just chooses to present the concept very directly, without sub-textual implications or astounding plot twist, which result to a more comforting and relaxing feeling 

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Born in 1989, Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor that has had a tremendous career both in cinema and theater and has received numerous awards for his roles. Radcliffe involvement with theater was initiated in 2002 in ‘The Play What I Wrote’ and since then he has made many appearances on stage. Taking a look in his career, Radcliffe has had a diverse variety of roles, s he is not afraid to step out of his comfort zone when performing or exploring roles, which highlights his appreciation for the world of drama. When asked about his experience while acting in an interview with ‘The Talks’ Radcliffe said: ‘ On stage, you definitely get this great adrenaline rush because of the pure fear of stepping out in front of people… It’s so acute that I think you will always have that. When it comes doing something like a song and dance number , you sort of just have to remind yourself that you know how to do this. You’ve been rehearsing, so just do it. Stop thinking about it. Those are the moments I get the most nervous about because it’s both terrifying and exciting. And the feeling of making it through every night is what’s unique to theater.

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An Introduction to Greek Theatre

For background detail on Greek theatre productions at the National Theatre, see our online exhibit http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/exhibit/greek-dram...

This video published by the National theatre, demonstrates the techniques, attributes and qualities that ancient Greek theatre followed. I find this video to be particularly important as it highlights the impact that Greek theatre has had on a national level since it lies beneath the core of the art of drama. For me the most memorable aspect of this video is how dominant theatre was in the lives of the citizens. Especially, how they viewed it as a means to question their values and reflect onto their lives but also to entertain themselves both the actors and the audience.  

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The pictures above are two productions of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The first one was at the Old Vic Theater in 1937, directed by Tyrone Guthrie, while the second was at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2016, directed by Mathew Rose. I wanted to use these two performances to show the contraction that can be created through the director’s impute. The performance at the Old Vic is primarily based on the costumes and makeup. While they do appear to have the mythical element that ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ holds, the performance remains aesthetically pleasing and extravagant. Through the fancy clothing, makeup and props, the director achieves a dreamy feel that maintains a high-class character. Contrary, while the second performance also follows a fairy -  tale like aesthetic it doesn’t aim to project extravagance and beauty, but to travel the viewer in another area where the events take place. This is achieved by using unrealistic hairstyles, visuals and costumes. 

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The pictures shown above are works some of the works of Utagawa Kunisada, a Japanese Ukiyo-e artist born in 1786. Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that uses the technique of woodblock printing which was a method of printing art onto wood. Ukiyo-e usually revolved around depicting female beauty and women, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, landscapes and the flora Japan in a way that showcased the Japanese traditions and culture. With saturated and light colors, traditional Japanese clothing, motifs and detailed and maximalistic illustration, this genre of art manages to adapt a highly theatrical and exaggerated character. While looking at the pictures above and imagining what a modern adaptation of these aesthetics would look in a theatrical performance I find very intriguing how expressive these pictures look. I could even imagine a theater performance were there is no speech or dialogue, where the characters  feelings and thoughts are communicated through the color palette,clothing, body language and face expressions. 

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‘Nessy Messy Chick’ is an Instagram account of a creative team that posts fashion content of strangers in Paris. In some of their post they selectively pick strangers whose outfits may appear oddly interesting and peculiar and try to built a that character off of their appearance and clothing. What I find really fascinating about this Instagram series of posts is that it proves how easily one may find inspiration in everyday life, in random places, by random people. More importantly, it showcases how a creative process can begin, by selecting and observing an object, a situation or an outfit and slowly bringing together and combining pieces and going into specific details that can lead to a piece of art. 

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Vinnette Carroll was a playwright, actress and theater director, born in New York in 1922. In her early life, Carroll showed a great interest in education and learning and followed the path of studying psychology at Columbia University. However, in 1948 she changed her career path to study theater and became the first black woman to study full time in the dramatic workshop at the New School with a full scholarship and the first black woman to direct on Broadway. Carroll’s intended role in theater was to debunk the common stereotypes of African - Americans  that ruled after the civil rights movement through directing projects that aimed to make room in theater and art for people of color as well as other minorities that had been systematically oppressed and silenced. One of her most famous performances that she directed was the musical ‘Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope’, that had its first staging at Ford’s theater in 1971. In this performance, Carroll showcases the African - American culture and experience through music and dance by including jazz, calypso, funk and soft rock as well as through powerful and expressive dancing. 

Vinnette Carroll has been an admirable figure for many for craving the way for black creators in the the artistic field of theater and arts in general. In one of her interviews Carroll once said: ‘They told me that I had one-third less chance because I was a woman; they told me I had one-third less chance again because I was black, but I tell you, I did one hell of a lot with that remaining one-third.’ Which perfectly embodies the power of perseverance and will when pursuing a career.