Bernhardt Hamlet Flashcards
Director
Anne-Louise Sarks
Set and Costume Designer
Marg Horwell
“All of thus us a theatre language, all of these are theatre conventions and they start to blend by the end of the show.”
“The costumes are based on period shapes but they all use contemporary fabrics”
“There was a friction between the real and the representation”
“We have the 3D fleshed-out world and then a more 2D theatre making world…feels like a collage”
Composer and sound designer
Joe Paradise Lui
“I think it’s a feeling of trying to marry the past and present. Something of the time period, but also now. So there’s orchestral arrangements, with contemporary feeling music and rhythms”
“The music helps by creating a non-diegetic dreamscape while scene changes happen…a fantasia of shifting objects”
Movement and Fight Director
Nigel Poulton
“Involved training the actors around concepts around the composition and structure of movement, gesture and stylization; in addition to training them in theatrical swordplay”
Sarah Bernhardt Played by: Kate Mulvaney
Purpose: to discover herself through playing Hamlet
Objective: to perform Hamlet and challenge contemporary views about herself
Motivation: a want to prove herself
Traits: pride, eccentric, arrogance, compassion
Status: high status as a well renowned actress
“It’s important for me to emulate her form, rather than impersonate it” re audacious acting choices
“Sometimes you have to break the rules to change them”
Edmond Rostand Played by: Charles Wu
Purpose: to be the catalyst for Sarah’s epiphany and drive her to challenge people’s perception of her character as an actress and person
Objective: To write a great plays with Sarah at the center and be emersed in the world of artists, being in a relationship with Sarah and discussing art and writing with others
Motivation: wanting to be a great play write and have a legacy in the art world, selfish love, pride, determination
Traits: Selfishness, proud, ego
Status: High status as a playwright however loses that status by the end of the play when Sarah moves on
“He is driven by the desire for a lasting legacy, and by his love for and dedication to SB”
“ER is proud of his work, and he’s got a bit of an ego, so I work on keeping my body upright with a bit of a swagger”
Constant Coquelin Played by: Marco Chiappi
Function: To enhance Sarah’s performance and challenge her acting. To provide dry comedic relief.
Objective: To perform in great plays and express himself
Motivation: To be a greatly acclaimed actor
Traits: Intelligence, ego, successful, pride
Status: High status
“Costume and props are extra toys to play with that may allow greater specificity in characterisation”
“playing with rhythm can be a fasinating exercise in revealing or consolidating the emotional and mental dynamic of the character”
Motion in the play
Choreographed sword fight between Maurice and Sarah
Pattern of smooth movement
Fluidity of body movements / arranged back and forth steps with a pattern of jabs and swishes of their swords
Act 2 transition from Sarah’s dressing room to rehearsal space - spatial flow of stage pieces
Rhythm in the play
Progression of increase timing and tempo of lines in the first Cyrano scene to Sarah’s confrontation of Edmund
Beginning with a jilted stop start of lines to overlapping, faced paced lines by the end
Variation in the play
Variation of Kate Mulvaney’s performance of Sarah:
Stiff, swaggering and upright posture and movements of SB as Hamlet with a loud and punching voice
Slumping shoulder, falling arms and long sigh when embracing Edmund and asked about Hamlet
Smiles, curled up fluid body language and adoring way of speaking to Maurice
Confident voice, strong stance with legs out wide and shoulders pulled back at the end of the play when Sarah has come to realise herself and her potential
Emphasis in the play
Opening scene of the play:
Opens with a spotlight on Sarah, only person on stage t.f all focus is drawn to her
Kate’s use of a moment of silence before her lines begin gives the moment importance as audiences anticipate her lines
Kate’s dramatic pose, right hand raised in the air with her feet spread apart, draws attention to her character
Cohesion in the play
Repetition of the motif of flowers:
On Alfonse waistcoat and shoes, on Ophelia’s dress and throughout Sarah’s dressing room
Provide the play with a sense of unity as the motif helps to connect the story and give the audience a constant reminder that they can then connect to scene through the flowers meaning
Deliberate choice of Australian accent
Vocal resonance and amazingness of incohesive performance of Kate Mulvaney
Contrast in the play
The variety of colourful scenes throughout the play contrasted with the sparse set post kabuki drop. Line of pooled red fabric, the structural back of the stage, checkerboard floor and Sarah in her white fencing costume all contrast the kaleidoscope of colours seen in past scene like the overstuffed dressing room and detailed backdrop of Sarah’s theatre
