Richard Schechner once stated, ‘Tragedy is not pity and fear, not catharsis, it’s a problem that will not be solved, because the problem is existence.’ (Schechner, 27/12/11) This idea forming much a part of Blood Wedding as the protagonists struggle to find a way of living, amongst the great quantity of inner and social conflict within the play.

Written by Federico Lorca, a Spanish poet and playwright in 1932, the play is set in rural Andalusia, a place where Lorca spent much of his time growing up. Lead by a female protagonist, the ‘Bride’, many believe that through Lorca’s own homosexuality (and the feelings that surrounded it), he was able to empathise to a greater extent with the struggles women faced, in terms of how their role in society had an impact upon them.

Set in the traditional 5 act structure, from exposition to denouement, the play is structured to develop a level of catharsis with the audience. Through Blood Wedding Lorca perhaps wanted to comment on the social structure of Spain at the time, looking at how a predominantly catholic and patriarchal society had an affect upon the characters.

In staging our own adaption of Blood Wedding a few things became significant ingredients to tie into the piece. Firstly, we aimed to create a Spanish atmosphere, looking to do this through ways such as the use of flamenco inspired dance and Spanish music. Looking at existing works such as ‘Bodas de Sangre’ by Carlos Saura, we used ideas to relate to within our own piece. In ‘Bodas de Sangre’ (a flamenco adaption of Blood Wedding) we noticed a great sense of sensual movement between the protagonists of the Bride and Leonardo. While we aimed for a perhaps naturalistic acting style which the audience could relate to, the piece that we intended to construct overall did not aim to follow that of a naturalistic form. This allowing for sensual, physically expressed moments between Leonardo and the Bride as inspired by Carlos Saura’s work. To present a naturalistic acting style, to then suddenly juxtapose with physical expression had good effect as it added another visual layer to communicate the relationship of the two characters involved.

More so, ‘Bodas de Sangre’ featured a great sense of ensemble/communal dance which was an idea we incorporated into that of the Wedding celebration scene within the play. Using specific actions/moves from Saura’s work, the relatively simple yet effective dance that was created added an energy to the scene and allowed it to become a lot less static. Our dance within piece divided male and female, by placing each at opposite ends of the stage as they carried out their dances. Both sexes danced harmoniously with one another, in same time, creating a sense of equality between gender. On the other hand, set in a style perhaps relatable to a dance off, ideas were created which may have been metaphorical of the fight for equality as male and female tried to (in a sense) outperform each other. Throughout the wedding scene seven sequences of dance were performed, each sequence building upon the last to parallel the unfolding drama that occures throughout the scene, until a crescendo is reached at the end.

Next, the use of traditional Spanish inspired music was played and performed live throughout the piece. The music acting as a motif which tied the piece together, making it much more rounded from beginning to end, instead of being a lot less disjointed. Featuring the intertextual singing of a range of lines from the piece, in their original Spanish language the music aimed to further heighten a feeling of Spanish setting within the show. Performed by the ensemble of the entire cast, it were as if what was being said was from that of Spanish society upon reflection of the specific events within the piece. Alongside the use of voice, rhythmic clapping created a feeling of flare within the performance. Three contrasting clapping rhythms and vocal lyrics further demonstrating the conflict within the piece, and how a community doesn’t all think under one thought (as a generalisation), but will have a range of different thoughts.

With the use of guitar, which did not only feature between transitions from one scene to the next, but also subtly as scenes progressed a further undertone of Spanish culture was expressed. Featured in scenes such as a rather impacting, but slow paced lullaby scene, the guitar added a melancholy atmosphere, which worked alongside the performers and their lines to develop a sense of catharsis and sympathy within the spectator. The guitar also significantly aided in keeping the moving and ever-changing tempo of the piece, as the play moved along the 5 act tragic structure.

Performed on a traverse stage, it was essential to consider blocking with paramount importance within the piece. With audience members on two sides of the stage, balance needed to be created in order for all audience members to see action consistently throughout the duration of the performance. While one character faced one direction for example, another character would face the other, in order for action to be visually expressed to both sides simultaneously. Diagonals were another great technique to use as lines of vision would also not be blocked by one actor and generally more than one thing would be capable of being viewed on stage at any given time. Body language, through tension and posture was also key in physically communicating the character. This because, if a character had their back to one side of audience, through only posture and physically expressed tension, they could still perhaps communicate a generalised feeling of their emotion at that specific time within the piece.

References:

– Schechner, Richard. (2009). Richard Schechner Talks about DIONYSUS IN ’69 . Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMnqV9Q0BLg. Last accessed: 27th Dec 2011.