Week #2: 'The League of Youth' by Henrik Ibsen

A political idealist is released and consequentially run out of town because of social and sexual complications .... How poetic! (especially  in this day and age of political tenacities!)


The League of Youth, written in 1869, was a turning point for Ibsen as it marked his first play in colloquial language away from his previous verse writing.  The play of five acts (and over 125 pages...) centres on protagonist Stensgaard and the beginning (and ultimately the crashing demise) of his young and vivacious anti-capitalist political party 'League of Youth'.
Stensgaard is a conceited entrepreneur who has been suitably termed by many as 'a political Peer Gynt."  He first sets a provincial town in Norway alight by his radical attack on the social structures of the town and the formation of the 'League of Youth'.
Although, ingratiated by the community's conservative, all-powerful chamberlain, Stensgaard swiftly changes tact and, after a local electoral triumph, is happy to be proposed for a seat in higher parliament.  What eventually undoes Stensgaard is his sexual, rather than his political, cynicism.  it is discovered by the town that he simultaneously proposed to three differing women (and comprehensively rejected by all three), he becomes a local laughing stock and is run out of town.

Having started reading this play with full intentions of its possibilities for a younger cast (namely my Theatre Studies class), I propelled myself into reading it, only to come to a halting end.  The language is, in true Ibsen fashion, proper and loquacious.  Unfortunately I could not envisage the production, making it difficult to form a deep impression for reflective comment.

It has been said that the character of Stensgaard was a political allegory of Norwegian outsider Herman Bagger, who in the 1830s, arrived in the town of Skein (Ibsen's home town), was subsequently elected to political office in 1848.  Even though Bagger was involved in a few scandals, he went on to further his political life and eventually retiring from office in 1874.

This is a script that is rarely staged.  The most recent production was in 2011 adapted by Andy Barrett and Directed by Giles Croft for Nottingham Playhouse.  This production, complete with traditional setting, was highly commented upon.
Steve Orme for the British Theatre Guide states "in the programme Andy Barrett points out that Ibsen's original work is a very long, five-act play and he's had to condense it so that it could be bought to a UK stage for the first time." ... "Barrett's adaptation is authentically perceptive, Giles Croft directs with an assured confidence, Dawn Allsopp's design is impressively grand and the actors - fifteen townspeople and servants as well as eleven speaking parts - throw themselves wholeheartedly into the production."

Michael Billington for The Guardian comments - "Although the play strains the resources of a regional theatre, Giles Croft's production adroitly makes use of non-professionals to embody Stensgaard's supporters, and allows the teeming action to spill out into the auditorium.  There are also good performances from Sam Callis as the overwhelming antihero, smiling unfazed by temporary setbacks, Phillip Bretherton as the easily hoodwinked chamberlain and David Acton as a suave conservative who sees though Stensgaard's expediency."

The production took use of modern political imagery, most notably the iconic two tone blue and red image used in the Obama election.  Maybe this was a political theatrical opportunist choice in itself in order to garner an audience?? (I would say that it was a very clever marketing ploy for this particular production for their season in conjunction with the Nottingham European Arts and Theatre Festival.)

I can recognise that if you were to adapt this script to a more contemporary setting, that audiences could create a deeper understanding of the context in which it was written and form a greater appreciation to the overall comical presence within the play.  Particularly if it was to be adapted for an Australian audience; due to the current political climate and humorous nature of the catastrophes that the two major parties have placed themselves in, an audience could immediately associate the attempts at forming a working party for the masses, whether they are the working class or the upper ranks of society.
It would be a highly poignant production is treated with a modern re-write and adaptation to our current political mess.




Next Week:  'Six Characters in Search of an Author' by Luigi Pirandello

Week #1 : 'Miss Julie' by August Strindberg

Miss Julie..... Mistress Julie...... Mademoiselle Julie....... Oh, how your prestigious birthright belies you...

August Strindberg wrote a gripping tale of a society woman bent on seducing her fathers porter into a sexual experience to prove that she still has power over men of any status after her disastrous engagement that has just ended. The events that follow allow herself to be wrapped in his tangling web of seductions all to be humiliated, belittled and ultimately manipulated into sacrificing herself in the end.

Written in 1888, 'Miss Julie' was so controversial, it was not produced in Swedish theatres for over 14 years. This seminal text of the Naturalism period, that Strindberg himself described as a "modern psychological drama", has been depicted as volatile, psychologically turbulent and captivating. 

Strindberg influenced such writers as Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee and Ingmar Bergman (to name just a few) with his intellectual thoughts on morals and class structures all wrapped up in characters that were multidimensional and contained within a plot that was not fabricated. 

'Miss Julie' is all this and so much more!

                    

The action happens across the span of a single night where societal status is challenged and crumbled beneath the weight of seductions from both Julie and John. Both try to best each other with desperate actions that would shake the morals of any human being, yet John takes it in his stride and cuttingly overhands the dangerously enticing situation to manipulate and ruin Julie for his own gratifications.

The script allows a man and a woman to create a growing psychological tension on stage that not only covers sexual attraction and eventual domination, but the mechanisms of polarised upbringings of the upper and lower classes of society and their desperate layers of control.

          "Why do you go about in livery on a holiday evening? Take it off at once." (Julie to John when in the company of his fiancée - the kitchenmaid)

John, who will not be bested in any situation, seemingly plays right into Julie's flirtations and enables the situation to grown beyond her power. As the night spins beyond anyones control, the status of men and women, class distinction and the strong and the weak are put to the test.  John clearly sets the tone and in one fowl swoop, cheapens Julie's actions and a forces a flow of abuse onto her:

          "No one in my station of life could have made herself so cheap as the way you carried on tonight, my girl... Have you ever seen a girl in my position offer herself in the way you did?" 

Strindberg was quite specific about the way in which he wanted his play to be seen: a small stage, the single setting of a small working kitchen and fireplace, with a glass door leading to the garden. Other items on stage reveal a large bell and a horn for the residents of the upper house to contact their staff. (Later on also Julie's pet canary and large knife...)

The dialectic of class conflict is delivered through the only openings to other parts of the household: the staff quarters on one side of the stage and the opulent gardens on the other. The kitchen then becomes the intermediary between both worlds. The very personalised relationship display between Julie and John in this middle ground forces the tension out in the open where the themes of love, desire and control in a world with rigid class conventions override any visceral perceptions. 

Strindberg's stage directions are almost stifling in specificity in parts, but kept relatively open when the dialogue becomes overwrought with dramatics and emotions. Writing around the same time as Ibsen, whom also heavily focused on the specificity of the actors movements; Strindberg knew exactly how he wanted his writings to be imagined on stage and did so in these directions to whomever tackled his script. (Oh,and painted  backdrops were definitely not allowed on a Strindberg production!) 

In 2012, Yael Farber re-imagined Strindberg's play to post-apartheid era with tremendous success, winning the Carol Tambour Best of Edinburgh Award. Claire Simpson reviewed the performance for Fringe Reviews: "One of those rare exceptional productions where all the elements - writing, direction performance and technical direction - combine to become more than the sum of its parts, this powerful Mies Julie lets out a cry of anguish for today's South Africa that won't be easily forgotten." Rory Eddington also commented on the performance: "While individually giving exhilarating performances, the chemistry between Bongile Mantsai and Hilda Cronje is torrid, creating a perspiration drenched eroticism. Yet perhaps the most enduring image is that of John clutching both shovel and scythe at the play’s denouement as if to ask one simple question: is this the only way? Sexy, dangerous and riveting."

     

Not so successful was the French adaptation in 2011 staring Juliette Binoche, however more for the bold minimalist modern setting rather than the performances. The reviews for this show focus on the design rather than the acting, which is disappointing considering Juliette Binoche is renowned for creating deep and often beguiling female characters. One comment made by Michael Billington for 'The Guardian' concluded that "In the end, the production makes little sense. Strindberg dreamed of a 'small stage and a small auditorium' where the entire focus would be on the situation's emotional reality. Instead the play is presented as a pictorial spectacle with the emphasis on a mood of debauched glamour and where either the glass screens or the lighting render the actors' faces semi-visible."

     

I feel that I could easily write a thesis discussing the psychological complexities of this play, let alone the numerous adaptations of the text. However, I think I may have to stop here as I draw alarmingly close to the 1,000 word mark.....

I chose this play to be my first as it will be on at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney in August/Sept with aussie actor Brendan Cowell as John.  I had the chance to work with Letitia Cáceres at MTC and I am really interested to see how she will tackle this with Simon Stone's adaptation of the original text.

http://belvoir.com.au/productions/miss-julie/

Next week: 'The League of Youth' by Henrik Ibsen

When the going gets tough, read a play (or 52)!

The beginning is just a play script away...

Intellectual challenges have been few and far between these last few years. Since completing my Honours of Arts (Theatre and Performance) in 2010 after completing a double degree in Secondary Education and Arts (double majoring in Drama and Literature), I have not had too much of a chance to extend my theatrical repertoire as of late.  

Starting my career in Secondary Teaching has been a tumultuous time (especially in trying to find a secure position at a school), the lack of time and, ok-ok I'll admit it, the drive to read outside the texts I have been teaching has been severely depleted. My decision to return to postgraduate studies part time, specifically Masters of Fine Arts (Theatre), has me jumping for joy! What doesn't have me joyful is my cache of script knowledge. Titles of plays and synopsis - Tick! Actually having read the majority of those plays - oh dear.... 

After being accepted and completing a Masterclass Directing workshop at the Melbourne Theatre Company with Associate Artistic Director Sam Strong and Associate Director Leticia Caceres, hearing what they had to say about their practices and directorial skills had me thinking very long and hard. If I ever want to have the chance to make my way into the world of theatre, then I really need to step up my game and not just will myself in being, but actually set myself a challenge that is a stretch, but one that still can be achievable in my current situation. 

And here comes the reason for this blog...

I challenge myself to read 52 plays in 52 weeks, along with conducting literary research and researching past reviews on each of the scripts.

I have never been good at keeping a blog, diary or any form of diarising events in my life. However, since this is something that I have been working towards ever since I started my journey into theatre, this is one challenge that I am determined to keep. (Plus I made my gorgeous senior Theatre Studies students create a challenge for themselves to work on something in class that they felt they needed to improve on... And I made them write it down and sign it as a contract. So I really need to keep up my end of the bargain too!)

For starters, I am going to read the scripts of playwrights that I know well, but have only read some of their works. For instance, I have never read Shakespeare's 'A Comedy of Errors', but have read many of his other works... I have read Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest', but never 'Lady Windermere's Fan'... And the list continues...

Each Sunday I will write about the play and research here.

As with my fiction choices, I will make a decision based on what I feel like reading next once I have finished the current book, or in this case, play script. At the end of each week I will tell you the next instalment of this challenge.

From you I am seeking suggestions of other lesser known playwrights and scripts that you think I should read. Any and all suggestions will be taken into account. 

I hear you whispering amongst yourselves 'but just reading and researching plays scripts won't get you into theatre' ...  I know, but extending my knowledge, practicing my research capabilities and improving my understanding on the inner workings of the different styles of writing and theatre practice will, somewhat, help. As much as I loved my Drama major at Uni and working on self devised theatre, gaining the knowledge of past practitioners was an aspect that was removed from the course. I don't know if I can say that this was of any detriment or not, because I certainly learnt SO much from my lecturers and use that knowledge every day when teaching my own 'little cherubs'. However, something just clicked inside of me when listening to Sam at MTC.... That one day Masterclass propelled me into overdrive and to finally kick start the career I have only been dreaming about.

Wish me luck!!

Week 1: 'Miss Julie' by August Strindberg