Act 2 Scene 8 Ideas

Even though on appearance Act 2 Scene 8 is very short and not extremely complexed, my group and I have found many different opportunities for theatrical devices to be used effectively varying from physical theatre to multimedia techniques.

In this scene there is a stream, that is at first cloudy and then becomes clear. We thought we could use strips of material, firstly grey and then blue. The grey material would stretch from the bottom of the stage to the main doors, through the audience area. People would be kneeling, crouching and standing, slowly moving with the material. When it becomes unclogged then another group of people with the blue material would run in through the main doors. The way the transition would work would be, when the people with the blue material ran into the building, the people with the grey material would kneel on the grey material and make way for the others to move above and to the side of them. We thought this would help set the scene for the audience and make the piece more interesting and to make a short scene very detailed in an effective, professional way. 

During the scene Twinkle and Mau and referring to a lot of elements of past scenes: Twinkle singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and Mau talking about killing Cox. We thought we could use the river almost as a portal back to the past scenes. For example all the people involved in the scene of killing Cox would 'come back to life' briefly and create a flashback. To make it smooth and effective, I would have these actors operating the grey material so they would be kneeling underneath the blue material. Then when they created the flashback the people with the blue material would drop so the people kneeling could get up and re-enact the scene Mau is referring to. Furthermore, their exit would be accompanied by Twinkle singing 'Twinkle Twinkle,' with them joining in as they walked out. I think this would work very well with the mood of the scene and reflect Mau's reminiscent, almost sombre mood. 

In the flashback scene the lighting would change when the flashback occurred. The lighting would grow dark with the light mainly on the stream and/or the river. This would make the atmosphere reflect the darkness of the scene and the almost gothic nature as it is reminding us of all the characters who have died.

When there is a long list of all the people who have died: victims of the Russian Influenza, sailors on the Sweet Judy, Captain Roberts and Daphne's mother and brother, I would have them operating the blue material and slowly one by one, or in groups drop so the stream is just flat. I think this will give some perspective on what Mau is talking about and give people time to reflect on past scenes.