Theatre is one of the kinds of arts that help people to reflect the processes and phenomena of the objective reality. This very kind of art is one of the oldest among all and is unique in its nature. It appeared on Earth as soon as people started living in the society and become interested in the behavior of the like representatives of the species of human beings. The first historical evidence of the appearance of the art of theatre brings us to the times of Ancient Greece. The Greeks were known in history as “the fathers” of numerous sciences and arts, and the art of theatre was not an exception.
Greek tragedies and comedies, historical performances, and productions of the ancient myths constitute the most valuable part of world literature. The further development of the art of theatre took place in the Roman Empire that brought this art to a higher level of development and gave the basis for the history of the European medieval theatre. Middle Ages were not the best times for arts because of the religious control over all spheres of life and the development of the theatre experienced difficult times. But with the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe, the revival of the theatre was observed. The 17 – 18th centuries are considered the Golden Age of theatre and playwriting. It is the very time when the play which is considered in this essay was created.
The play is titled “She Stoops to Conquer” by Oliver Goldsmith, it is a piece of comedy that is called by the specialists “the laughing comedy” in contrast to “the sentimental comedy” which was dominant in the theatre up to the middle of the 18th century. “She Stoops to Conquer” is mostly farce and the so-called comedy of errors that presents itself as the set of misunderstandings. We are going to analyze it in order to find out the goals that the author pursued while creating the work and the mechanisms that he used so that to put his ideas into practice. Another assignment that we are going to face writing this essay is the critical analysis of the production of the play executed in 2002 by the British theatre director Max Stafford-Clark under the title “She Stoops to Conquer”. Here we are going to see the similarities and the differences in the choice of methods made by the authors of the two works of art. The analysis of the production elements is also an integral part of the current essay.
To make the critique of the play and its production as precise as possible we should first take a brief look at the plot of the story. It is developing around the figure of the main character, Charles Marlow. His parents want him to marry the woman they chose for him, but Charles is too shy with women of the same wealth, which contrasts with his behavior with the women of the lower social classes. Charles’ assumed bride, Kate Lumpkin, decides to play a trick on him and pretends to be a barmaid in an inn Charles and his friend stop one day. Her plan succeeds and Charles falls in love with her. After some obstacles on their way the lovers, helped by Charles’ father Sir Marlow, live happily together. This is the plot of the play which is accurately rendered in the production of this play executed by Max Stafford-Clark (Stafford-Clark, 2002).
The above-mentioned production is the combination of two pieces of art, “She Stoops to Conquer” by Oliver Goldsmith and “A Laughing Matter” by April De Angelis, and that is why it differs considerably from the original play with the same title. And now, let us analyze all the elements of the above-mentioned production in order to see the differences between the methods chosen by the author of the play and the production director in accordance with the purpose of the work of art. The first point of the analysis is the Script or the Text of the play which is the basis for any theatre performance. In the case with “She Stoops to Conquer” this element is a complex one because this production combines two plays that were mentioned above. This was a challenge for the director because it is usually hard to make a solid performance out of two works of different styles and epochs. Another production element that follows the script in the process. It presupposes the whole set of activities of the cast of actors, dancers, technicians and designers, playwrights, and the production director.
The production of “She Stoops to Conquer” by Max Stafford-Clark presents an adequate performance in this relation as well. Critics assessed highly the acting of Ian Redford and Monica Dolan, the scenery designed according to the modern trends, the humor of the production, and the skills of the production director who managed to create a single lively performance out of two plays by the authors of different epochs. The element called product is closely connected with the previous one as far as it presents the final result of the work of the whole crew and this is what the audience observes on stage. The production by Max Stafford-Clark made a good impression upon the audience at the performance.
The collaboration of the actors, technicians, and directors resulted in a well-coordinated work, although some misunderstandings between the acting cast during the performance could be observed (Taylor, 2002). The audience of the performance is also one of the most important elements of the production as it makes the theatre what it is – a “living” form of art. Without the audience, no action will make such an impression as it is intended to. At the production of the play under consideration, the audience played its role in the full range. There was a sold-out at the performance, which created the very atmosphere which is necessary for the production of such a level. And finally, the most important element of the production is the work of the director. This element rose no negative response as the director managed to create a good production that reflected what the audience expected to see from the plays he used as the basis of his work. The author aimed at creating a skillful piece of art and he reached this goal.
References
Stafford-Clark, Max. She Stoops to Conquer. The theatre performance at the Out-of Joint, 2002.
Taylor, Paul. The Independent: What the Critics Said. 2002. Web.