Performance Analysis Between Told by and Idiots - Essay Example

?Performance analysis Introduction Told by an Idiot is measured as the widely accepted company which promotes innovative stage shows and plays. The company has introduced different strategies for its plays and permits the viewer to watch humor and music in a unique style. And the Horse Your Rode in On is the most recent piece of stage show produced by the popular company Told by an Idiot. It is far and wide acclaimed as a great piece of satire and one can obviously notices the rich influence of Hitchcock shows in And the Horse Your Rode In On. Analysis of a play or a stage show initially demands the nature of its theme and in this point of viewer can make out the theme of political satire in And the Horse Your Rode In On. It is not possible for a viewer or critic to approach the Horse Your Rode In On merely an entertainment and the plays have need of a special attention from the viewer because of its effort of social criticism. In the same way, the dance program entitled The Factory bestows a new theatrical experience for the viewer through its magnificent performance. As a piece of popular theatrical performance, both Told by an Idiot and Eartfall made a unique effort in creating their latest works as a delighting one. It is obvious that And the Horse Your Rode in On captures the attention of its viewers through its theme and unique structure. Unlike And the Horse Your Rode in On, Ear fall’s The Factory marked its greatness through its magnificent movements. Both of them have their own compensations as well limitations in designing and performance. Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter tackle politics in first time and most of the events in this stage show concerned with politics and related violence. Advocates of the show design the performance of the characters of the show with the presence of number of intersecting narratives which illustrates political events. In this respect Brian Logan observes; “the show's ostensible subject is "extreme acts of violence and the lengths people will go for their beliefs" (Logan, 2011). Producers of the show effectively used the possibilities of black humor in their play. Director practices variety of performance strategies like mime, singing, one act play, and fart noises. All these techniques help the viewer to justify the intentions of its makers. The image of Conrad’s bomb-carrying anarchist permits the viewer to analyze the existence of armed revolution in modern world. Characters of the play made a conscious effort to create funny moments throughout the play and through these funny moments they transformed their criticism. Mat Trueman rightly comments that “Its outwardly jocular demeanor delights in slapstick and silly voices, but its core is a passionate reflection on revolution drawn out of a pop-cultural mash-up” (Trueman, 2011). The problem of identity crisis and gender issues that affected in modern society are obviously weaved in the play and viewer can hit upon the fact that the honest approach towards its theme is a significant reason for its general acceptance. One can begin the discussion about the performance of the play And the Horse Your Rode in On with a statement that it is not possible for a viewer to come across many occasions which makes much sense. Therefore, it is better for a viewer to watch it without prejudiced mind and stay away from questions about the reason behind it. The great thing is that the conclusion or moral of the play is brilliantly formed through a serious combination of different stories and the outstanding performance of its actors. The entire play mirrors the inability of common people to have a handle on the real intentions of political parties and also the failure of people to be aware of terrorist’s motivations. The viewers can understand how an individual or a person with good intentions changed into an anarchist or how the lives of victims or revolutionaries changed into a moment of explosive. The great challenge that the performers faced was that the creation of humor in the play. It is evident that the play reveals its humor through funny stuff, belly achingly, and deeply. At this juncture, one cannot keep away from the efforts of the performers to go on its ultimate aim. It is beyond the performance of a clown and it is clearer through the words of Louise Peacock. The man rightly observes that “When the clown is removed from its usual cultural setting, its conventions are lost” (Peacock, 2009, p.149). The image of German student gives numerous opportunities for the viewer to stumble on humor and at the same time the character reflects the conservative ideologies of the Leftwing and its political propaganda. Director and producers of the play have accepted humor especially satire as the easiest way for social criticism. Major characters like two leather jacketed Germans, members of the Baader-Meinhof group, and the revolutionary student in the play reflect public reactions against the existing political scenario. The Factory The Factory is based on Andy Warhol's famous New York studio – the Silver factory – where collaborative creativity fuelled by amphetamine and all the influences of the 60s gave way to an iconic arts movement (Guardian, 2011). Earth fall’s The Factory is a creative stage performance which provides powerful, magnificent, energized, hypnotic and infectious stage experience for the viewer. The stage program is designed with a soulful music on the stage and the dancers moved their heads and hands in an aggressive way. The producers got inspiration from Andy Warhole’s Factory which populated in New York in 50s and 60s.The Factory marks the difference from popular stage shows in New York because of its various features like live music, film, dialogues and predictable images. Here, viewers get an opportunity to take pleasure in different art forms together with dance and they can get pleasure from an exciting creative background. This dance program is directed by Jim Ennis and Jessica Cohen and Frank Naughton and Sion Orgon composed its music (Camden new journal, 2011). Similar to And the Horse Your Rode in On, this dance program also lacks sense of long-standing meaning and rational backgrounds. Viewer can make out the efforts of dancers in breaking conservative principles through the help of aggressive and powerful movements. Even though, the concept of free love is presented as path-breaking one in conventional theatrical performance, critics often considered it as sexual anarchism or eroticism. In the review of the dance program, Amelia Forsbrook examines that “The erotic sinks into the mundane as dancers move in a fitful wave of lumped sexuality, strutting from one side to another in an oxymoronically coordinated freedom” (Forsbrook, 2010). The movements of the dancers are highly suggestive and their sexual apprehensions are not affecting the smooth running of the program and the performers with no trouble forget it through its gorgeous stage movements. Producers expect to practice social changes through its aggressive steps and powerful movements. Another significant factor is that the producers of The Factory introduce innovative experiments in the field of popular stage shows. They make the most of the possibilities of film, choreography, music and monologue. Stage program like The Factory is helped to the spreading of a new and something controversial visual or communication culture among the people. Its innovative structure is demonstrated even in the pictures and photographs. Through the exploration of icons and identity, Earthfalls expresses an act of remonstration, hedonism, revolution and creativity that reflects the social and cultural life of ancient decades. The performers of the show appear on the stage in a colorful manner and their costumes and its designs help them to create the festival mood among the audience. In case of the dancers, their steps and gestures are highly suggestive and one can feel a harmony in their quick movements on the stage The presentation of the ‘The Factory’ is so attractive that it fuses various complicated elements. This is very clear when observing that “The piece is a high-octane, pumping tribute - propelled by the dancers' vivacity and verve, inspired by the soulful drive of the musicians on stage. Soon the audience is drawn in to their unique world where art forms flow seamlessly together in a single physical space” (Guardian, 2011). Evaluating their performance, one will acknowledge the fact that they were trying to find the spirit of this pseudo family. Analyzing the performance one can identify the fact that the Earthfall in their play has attempted to reconstruct the phrasing of the sixties, though they effectively used the post modern language as homage to the sound of underground. The urban language promotes a sense of the stretched speed of reaching and seeking. Many have observed Earthfall as embodying the freedom and future of contemporary dance. This could be clearly visible with their latest production Gravitas, which has often been viewed as an outburst against the grain of the usual self-indulgence associated with experimental dance. The most appealing element in their performance was their keen attempt to create a visual critique and satire, at once maintaining the quality of dance. One can attribute this feature of their performance as tremendously enhancing their performance which created an explosive result. One would certainly appreciate the vision of the company, especially their directors, Jim Ennis and Jessica Cohen’s, to regard dance as a medium to react against the social and global events. The images created from the very beginning are sufficient to appreciate their performance as they adopt themes like Guantanamo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so on. This is quite interesting for the audience to note the six dancers stare soul-searching into the audience. The satirical elements in the performance, when the performers engage in on-stage form of street running, rolling, and struggling against each other in an anarchic portrait of protest, brings out the new way of expressing one’s remonstration against the existing social institutions and their actions. The website entitled The Digital Dancer attempts a right evaluation of the of the performance of the Gravitas when it writes, “The performance is divided into overlapping segments, accompanied on stage by Frank Naughton and Sion Orgon whose synthesized sounds propel the dance forward, dropping from high-energy climaxes to barely-moving moments of stillness” (The Digital Dancer, 2007). The Digital Dancer also adds that “The dance comprises of a series of rough-and-tumble duets, magnetic group ensembles and gripping solos, interspersed with spoken word and singing, melded seamlessly together to create a montage of modern life in a war-stricken world” (The Digital Dancer, 2007). The casual way of dressing symbolizes modern hopeful life where men try to retaliate on the existing political and social scenario. The way the dancers are being silenced with hands over mouths is another context that bewitches the audience. Like The Factory, “Gravitas makes much for fresh inspiring contemporary dance. It is a cry out in a world ransacked by terrorism, and its scream is both disquieting and vital” (The Digital Dancer, 2007). This proposes the view that Eathfall has often been tried to invite the public attention to the grave social issues. The Factory is based on Andy Warhol's famous New York studio – the Silver factory – where collaborative creativity fuelled by amphetamine and all the influences of the 60s gave way to an iconic arts movement (Guardian, 2011). Conclusion In the final assessment, it is evident that as a popular medium of entertainment both And the Horse Your Rode in On and The Factory provide new theatrical experience for the viewers and at the same time they break some conventional norms in the fields of theatrical performance. And the Horse Your Rode in On is accepted as a powerful satire which regard as political violence and the relevance of terrorist movements. Producers elected political violence as its major theme and successfully executed through the backgrounds of humor and comedy. Even though, critics often stated it as full of sound and fury, signify nothing, one cannot ignore the effort of social criticism. The Factory caught the attention from the viewers through its powerful and energetic stage movements. It also introduces a new style in stage performance mingled with terrific dance movements, film, monologue and music. Even critics stated that the concept of free love which portrayed in The Factory questions morality, the performers suggested it as a part of artistic performance. Therefore, it is clear that the overwhelming influence of sexuality in the dance program The Factory is not a negative factor and the producers have designed it as per the demands of the public especially young people. References Camden new journal 2011, Theatre Review: Earthfall’s The Factory, Camden new journal, viewed 16 Aug 2011, < http://www.camdennewjournal.com/reviews/theatre/2011/feb/theatre-review-earthfall%E2%80%99s-factory>. Forsbrook, A 2010, Theatre review: Earthfall The Factory, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, WalesOnline, viewed 16 Aug 2011, . Guardian 2011, The Factory, Earthfall – review, Guardian News and Media Limited, viewed 16 Aug 2011, . Logan, B 2011, And the Horse You Rode In On and other improvised explosive devices, Guardian News and Media Limited, viewed 16 Aug 2011, . Peacock, L 2009, Serious play: modern clown performance, edn. Illustrated, Intellect Books. The Digital Dancer 2007, Gravitas brings contemporary dance back to its roots, viewed 16 Aug 2011, . Trueman, M 2011, Enlightenment through demonstration, culture wars, London, viewed 16 Aug 2011, Read More