R R A U - Research 2

Assessment Week Work	Date Set: Tuesday 10th March
UAL Level 3 Performing & Production Arts	Due in: Tuesday 17th March 1.30 pm Print out and bring to lesson.
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Exploratory Research for Unit 11
Investigate at least two interpretations of Arturo Ui. Write a report about the company that put on the show & how they interpreted Brecht’s text. Which actors featured in these versions ? How did they portray their role? (1,000 words )
The first adaptation I investigated was Jonathan Church's production. It was first performed at the Minerva Studio in Chichester in 2012, but then rose to success and performed in West End by 2013. The play is praised for its sharp wit and fast paced funniness that pulls the audience right in.    Jonathan Church is a British stage director who has been the artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre since 2006.    Henry Goodman plays the lead role of Arturo Ui. His performance has been described as electrifying and ”hypnotically watch-able”(The telegraph, 2012). He succeeded in giving a stark contrast in the development of Ui as a character, starting out with a timid school boy personality, who is even afraid of his own shadow, growing confidence ending up as man with explosive fury and gestures of Nazism. These gestures are discovered when Ui studies the mannerism of classical theatre from a washed-out Shakespearian actor, played by Keith Baxter.    In this adaptation, many of the actors are part of the orchestra, who provide the musical introduction for the show and different scenes.     The second adaptation I found was a co-production between the Everyman Liverpool Playhouse and the Nottingham Playhouse in 2011 and directed by Walter Meierjohann. This was a adaptation from Stephen Sharkey's translation, that especially done for the Liverpool audience, but in Chicago setting. Sharkey first planned to write the play setting in Liverpool, or using Liverpudlian English to make it easier to relate to, but realized that the original setting and the fame of American gangsters served perfectly for the message the play was trying to convey.    This was Nottingham Playhouse's third Brecht adaptation within six or seven years. They decided to do Arturo Ui third, because of the political climate at the time, right wing was growing and extremist political groups were popping up, and so a play that criticises and explores these elements seemed right. Ian Bartholomew, the actor of Arturo Ui, who has a past in clowning approached the play from a funny point of view, saying that the role was a fun to "dig his teeth into". The whole essence of this character is being satirical and funny, but still remembering that this is a horror story of its own kind. This is how the play was also conveyed, by using witty and fast paced humour to keep the audience awake, but remind that the is a tragic and serious point to be made. I also read about Nick Cavaliere's process of becoming Givola, the third man in command, who then rises to second in command by playing to Ui's good side and betraying his companions. Cavalier talked a lot about how the character is based on Dr Joseph Goebbels, a Hitler's henchman and minister of propaganda, who, just like Givola, rose in his position over time. Cavalier wanted to create a balance of the Givola Brecht described and Dr Goebbels, who was a failed poet and womaniser, but still stay somewhat true to Brecht's style of keeping the audience thinking.     In this adaptation, they really wanted to get the feeling of the industrial city of Chicago. Everything is concrete, but uses the idea of an empty space as its starting point. Staying true to Brechts idea of not creating the illusion of theatre being real, actors would bring on each set themselves and nothing is masked, even costumes changes were seen by the audience. This was also to show that the gang, the mafia is always present and "lurking in the background". The set is simply there to show where the characters are, yet using mixture of 1930's Chicago and elements from today.          I also looked a little bit into a production put on by Blackeyed Theatre and directed by Bart Lee. Blackeyed Theatre is a touring company that aims to bring challenging theatre to younger audiences and make it more accessible for them. To achieve this, the theatre company uses bold physical performances to their advantage, but also put on interactive workshops and provide post-performance talks.    This adaptation wanted to find the comedy in the text, but really focus on large physical performances to underline the horror and monstrosity of the actual happenings. The set is a boxing ring, which slugs out political messages Brecht's and as in some of the other adaptations, actors will be changing on set, to show the audience the work in progress and the mechanics of theatre.
·         Watch at least two 1930’s films featuring Edward G Robinson or James Cagney. A good example is Scarface ( 1930’s version) or Public Enemy No 1. Write a film review. (500 words)
Scarface(1932) is a dark and brutal representation of the gangster culture and life in the 1920's. The movie starts by telling the audience, that all of the scenes are a reproduction of real happenings and guides the watcher to think about what they can do to help their government fight organised crime.   Even though women do not hold the main stage in the movie, Poppy(Karen Morley), Tony Camonte's(Paul Muni) love interest, is portrayed as more than just a damsel in distress, giving sarky comebacks to the men without hesitation. Perhaps even more interesting is how the men change from aggressive scary creatures to charming gentlemen when they are around their female counterparts. Muni shows us these different sides of an ambitious gangster brilliantly, showing how Tony's actions change him into a somber man with lingering regret.    The movie is beautifully violent, using creative ways to show the power of the mafia and how brutal their actions, for the sake of money, are. A calendar losing each of its pages, one at a time, when the machine gun fires multiple bullets per second gets the point across without actually showing who or what the bullets hit. The film has amazingly shot moments, but long conversations can get dull from the lack of change in focus and odd pacing, but you will be soon dragged back in once the action and shooting starts once again. This is definitely a movie for an action lover, but there is also humour for those who appreciate it.     The Public Enemy(1931) tells the story of young Tony Powers'(James Cagney) rise in the criminal world in the prohibition era America. This crude and malicious man gives a very stereotypical presentation of an gangster, who is obviously been designed to make the watcher think badly of him. Yet, this doesn't take away from the story that pulls you right in from the gecko. The film glamorizes the life of a gangster a bit, when showing all the benefits with the high life and glamorous women surrounding the main character, but it also studied the roots of crime in a serious way.     Cagney's performance made him become a celebrated actor, which doesn't come as a surprise after watching this film. He gives a chilling interpretation of man that has had a taste for dire things since birth. He is full of himself, showing no respect to the women around him, but still manages to be charming at the same time. The good writing has made this absolutely hideous man into a strangely likable character, which makes it hard to criticize Cagney's performance.    Cheesy deaths are something that can be expected from a movie from the 1930's, but this doesn't make the experience at all worse. The editing, filmography and acting are ahead of their time, but it could have used some variety in the female characters, since only the bad-boy-loving Gwen Allen(Jean Harlow) seems to stand out. As many of the gangster film of the time, The Public Enemy tries to rise a point about crime in America, but the glamorous take on it seems to distract from that message.
·         Write a short summary on a play that you have seen which has used Brechtian techniques or was in a Brechtian Style. You can refer to more than one play. (500 words)
The only play I have seen, that has used Brechtian techniques, was a a version of Oh What A Lovely War by Brighton Live Productions.It is a story about the First World War in the style of an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. The original idea came from Gerry Raffles who after hearing Charles Chilton's radio musical, called The Long Long Trail about World War I, presented the idea as a base for a production to his partner, Joan Littlewood. She didn't like the idea at all at first, since she absolutely hated WWI, military uniform, and everything they stood for. After bringing Chilton to the theatre and playing trough the songs, Raffles changed Littlewood's mind, though still refusing military uniforms. Uniforms were changed into pierrot costumes from Commedia dell'arte to create "entertainment mode". Tin hats would bring a strong contrast that were also ironic. She wanted there to me no deaths on stage, but that the audience would laugh at the "vulgarity of war".    The show was created through improvisation. The cast would have a script in the beginning, but then have to retell the story in their own words for the performance. A lot of the scenes were worked on for days and some cut out because Littlewood didn't want to horrify the audience. The production is very much a satire on World War I and against war in general, making a very political play in its own way, and so an excellent play to explore Brechtian techniques with.    One of the most obvious Brechtian styles the play follows are all of the songs trough-out the show, which are most of he time very entertaining and cabaret-styled. These songs breakout the action in the play to distance the audience from the story, but also uses them to show a point to the audience, for example when the prostitute comes to sing for the men. This isn't connected to the story line and isn't necessary for the story itself, but gives some cabaret-style entertainment for the audience.    They also used slides and signs which were both factual and political in nature, for example with war propaganda. The narrator breaks the fourth wall by addressing the audience directly and improvising some of his speech. The cast also used Gest to their advantage, especially when portraying the different countries. There is a particular scene where British and French are arguing about British not protecting Belgium and in this scene their gest's showed clearly how the generals are actually not that good people, only caring about their glory and not the troops who are dying. The play also used sign's well to show the enourmous amount of war propaganda they had at that time.
How has Brecht used music in his plays. Who has he collaborated with and what has influenced his musical style? Write about one play that has used music. (5oo words)
Brecht used set design, costume and music, a.k.a. "the sister acts" to help tell the story, as they are all related to each other. Brecht believed that music made "poetic theatre" possible and at first wrote the music himself for his plays. Music is used for background for comedy, projections and battles but later on all poetic elements were put to music and performed in cabaret style.Yet, metrics were not to be sung, or it would distract the audience, the rhythm was to follow the poem, so there were no regular beats, stresses or bars, and was extremely jazz-based and unromantic in nature. Also, music would not have been played to highlight a climax in the story, since that would distract the audience from thinking critically. Some of the rules concerning music were: Orchestra must be seen Lightning change for singing of songs Orchestra lit up, titles and numbers of songs on a screen visible to the audience Actors would change their position before songs    Music started to evolve as Brecht wrote more plays and by the end, music served a purpose to reflect and moralize what was happening in the play. They also informed and stimulated thoughts, for the singer should show their attitude to the song and the scene. The songs were often "ironic references to conventional music". For example, often songs talking about the difficulties happening in the characters lives would be accompanied with a happy melody, conflicting from what was happening.    Brecht worked with musicians in many of his plays, for examples in the play Three Penny Opera(1928)the music was composed by Kurt Weill. This was a play with musical elements and adapted from an 18th-century English ballad opera, John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. It is a socialist critique of the capitalist world, and by the time Brecht and Weill were both forced to leave Germany, the play had been translated into 18 different languages and performed more than 10,000 times on European stages.     This is Weill's most known work and it contains his most famous song "Mack The Knife"("Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"). There was also a film adaptation of the play, filmed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Brecht and Weill tried to sue them to stop the production of the film, but lost the case. Their work together ended in 1930 because of politics. Brecht wanted his plays to be even more left-wing and to this Weill commented that he was unable to "set the communist party manifesto to music."