political theatre workshop blog

I really enjoyed performing Cathy, the performance was very successful and fun to do. What I think is one of the most incredible things about out performance is that we completely deconstructed the script and changed every scene into something more powerful and Brechtian but the essence is still so there, I actually feel I have a better knowledge of Cathy and the script even though we didn’t follow the script because we saw it from different angles and had more information and viewpoints put into the play. There was such a relaxed vibe and a sense of comfort with each other that meant we were able to really create those Brechtian over the top characters that were needed for the performance and have fun in the performance which meant the audience could have fun and enjoy it too, the ability to laugh from the side of the stage created a really energetic and exciting atmosphere in the room however it was really controlled and focused. I feel it was really powerful using the audience as C...

After running through the show we were given notes on what we could improve on for the performance.  Add noise to the gestus in the opening section. My anecdote had good energy. Find more fun and humour throughout the show, allow funny moments to happen because it's a funny show and it wont work unless the humour is hit. The fun allows the juxtaposition to the sad topic. Ant and Dec up the accents, in general through the performance people doing accents needed to give it more and those who weren't good at the accents should go for it more and incorporate that into the performance to add humour. Up the reactions to beans in the 'I'm a celebrity' section. Land banking more commitment to ballet dancing, straight face really trying and going for a good ballet move. Slum dog landlords should be a more high end movie style TV show style advert where we are all in own world pouting looking out not interacting with each other. Landlord holding something up which we are t...

Due to our performance being in the style of Brecht we aren't following the script, we are performing the play Cathy but we changed it so the audience is Cathy and they will go through the journey of what it's like to be homeless in a Brechtian style. We begin in a party setting this is an immersive section and we have personal interaction with the audience inviting them into little groups and treating them as our servant. This is my groups script for this section- intro - Saying hello,asking whether they will hand out crisps. This is Cathy Cathy had a perfect life But when she left home she couldn’t find employment Cathy ended up not ending to pay rent She had a baby Cathy’s got kicked out Cathy became homeless Cathy gets rejected by the food bank She then became a prostitute Cathy got arrested for prostitution She is now serving her community service here. India: They should commit more to their education (gestus clapping) Katie: poor people don't have en...

Gestus- - Brecht's principle concern is to put over a message in such a way that the audience can be in no doubt as to the intentions of the performance. - An audience should be able to understand each moment by looking at the stage picture.  - Brecht was influenced by film and photography. - The language in facial expression and gesture is very important. Gestus is the combination of gesture, facial expression, body language and vocal tone deliberately used to create and communicate a meaning to the audience. It shows the stage picture but also it sums up societies opinion on the situation shown through the lens of what it's like to be rich or poor. It is used to provoke debate and educate the audience. Gestus exercises- We began with pair work across the space from each other trying to relate a nursery rhyme, we did it again over acting the words adding gestures and enunciating to create an unnaturalistic performance to get the message across. What I ...

The play we are performing is Cathy by Paul Laverty. Paul Laverty was born in 1957 to an Irish mother and Scottish Father in Calcutta, India. He attended law school. He lived in Nicaragua for three years and travelled to war zones in South and Central America. After his time in America he wrote his first screen play for Carla's song.  He also wrote the film 'I Daniel Blake' about the issues surrounding the housing crisis.