Theatre in the Gothic Style
Unbeknownst to you, you have already experimented with theatre in the Gothic style.
You did this earlier in the year when we studied the Horror/Suspense unit and you
created the Ponsford Estate ensemble performances.
You should remember that these performances concentrated on creating a spooky and
unsettling atmosphere for your audience. You should also remember that this
atmosphere was created by manipulating sound, having moments of stillness and
silence, by the strong portrayal of characters with actors making use of their whole
body, face and voice to play character, and by paying very close attention to the use of
stage space to not only show location but to also show the various ‘hair-raising’
situations some of your characters were presented with. Space was also used to
suggest how the characters felt during these moments. Of course, you could not have
performed your Ponsford Estate pieces without thinking about building tension where
you made some moments increasingly scary and built the fear to a high moment, often
a moment of surprise for the audience.
Performances in the Gothic style include everything that is listed above. They involve
some consideration of the past, either through flashback or story, and setting is very
important – references to the lack of light and to the cold temperature feature, as well
as the occurrence of some element of ghostly or unexplained behaviour. Gothic
theatre pieces also make good use of language to increase the threatening mood
already set up by including rhyme, alliteration, powerful word choices,
personification, repetition, stately phrases etc. For example, some lines of dialogue of
one of your characters could be:
Trapped within the portrait, eyes of fire and ice threatened me from behind the frame. Eyes of fury,
trapped within the portrait; held captive by the dense, dank wall. The evil eyes of Lady Margueritte
hungry for my soul……
The use of lighting and costume is also incredibly important. Lighting should be used
to help create mood and part of the costume should represent what that particular
character is like (acts as a symbol). For example Lady Margueritte is supposed to be a
figure from the late 1800s/early 1900s and so would be dressed in a long black skirt
and a high-collard shirt with a lace frill. Because of her hungry eyes (her intention to
harm others) I would have her in a white shirt with a red ribbon/sash pinned around
her waist – the red representing her hunger for blood.
Your task will be to write a script and devise a performance in the Gothic style which
will be performed as part of the Year 7 Public Performance Evening in Term 4. You
will be given a setting and a topic and must ensure that your performance is structured
around these. Your performance will be 3-4 mins in duration and must include the
following:
 manipulation of sound to create a spooky/scary atmosphere
 moments of stillness and silence
 strong portrayal of character with actors making use of their whole body, face
and voice to play character. Each group member must play at least one
character and must deliver dialogue in character
 manipulation of stage space to show location and to show the ‘danger’ of the
situations your characters are in
 obvious decisions to create and build tension
 costume including symbolism
 consideration of the past, either through flashback or story
 consideration of the importance of setting – references to the lack of light and
to the cold temperature feature
 the occurrence of some element of ghostly or unexplained behaviour
 use of language to increase the threatening mood
Topics and locations:
1.
Bats in the Bell Tower; setting: The church of Notre Dame
2.
The Portrait; setting: The Huntington Mansion
3.
The Vine; setting: The Jackson Farm
4.
The Key; setting: The Antique Store