Bizarre Productions
For some reason, maybe because I have had a long day at work, my mind has wandered a lot. I found myself remembering a production of Hamlet at the Sheffield Crucible theatre. It had been set in the aftermath of the second world war. The set consisted of three utility chairs that the actors either sat on, stood on, threw across the stage, picked up and sat or stood on again. All the while shouting their lines to an increasingly disinterested audience. I remeber it being the first time I had been unable to pick up any kind of direction to a piece of theatre and because of my age (17 at the time) thought it was I who was ignorant. However, returning to my seat after the interval having fortified myself with a large(and at that time illegal) G and T, found that over half the audience had not returned.
We were treated at this point by the introduction of various hats placed on a table that had mysteriously joined the set, the actors variously donning them before standing on a chair to speak their lines.
Has anyone else sat through a similar experience?
