The Power of Place: Reflections on Performance Aesthetics in London & Dublin

Gritty and metropolitan, life in Dublin and London is just as distinct as proud – and at times stubborn – as the Irishmen and Britons that inhabit it. Markedly dark and chock full of pubs (perhaps more than restaurants and cafés), Dublin is the bustling capital city of the Republic of Ireland, an island only a ‘wee’ bit smaller than Pennsylvania. On the contrary, London -- the sprawling capital of the United Kingdom -- is a sleek, cosmopolitan agglomeration of culturally rich neighborhoods and diverse peoples and cuisines that can be traced back to the days of empire. I’ve had the privilege to reside in both Dublin and London for the past month, and have listened, observed, and partaken in a number of theatre experiences that have availed me to, among other things, the vital relationship between story and the way physical space is designed and the impression of location is presented to audience members. From Alabama and Manhattan to East London and West Yorkshire, theatre-goers – myself included – have been transported across continents in British and Irish theatrical productions – which have been tasked with the following question: how do I portray a feeling of place, or lack thereof, in the most effective way possible so that setting reinforces the dramatic action and journey of the character(s). For this entry, I’ll be dissecting the aesthetic of place in The Lehman Trilogy, Dixon and Daughter, and Navy Blue.

To begin, The Lehman Trilogy, directed by the brilliant Sam Mendes, sets multiple scenes using the same set – an impressive feat in and of itself. I was in awe from the get-go. The humble stage setting opens with the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis at the Lehman Brothers office in New York. Bankers desperately scramble to answer calls from clients and pack up their personal belongings. The true stage setting is from this scene but remains the set for the remainder of the three (!!!) act play. It is transformed to rural Bavaria, the home of the three Lehman brothers who would later emigrate to the United States. The digital background behind the physical set would change to reflect this rural setting, presenting darker colors to the audience and some forested terrain. Later, it would be transformed to the cotton fields surrounding Birmingham, Alabama – the location of the genesis of the Lehman Brothers as a corporation. The production decided to use erasable whiteboard markers on the glass panes of the set, which helped audience members understand the process of creating a name, and the ways the brothers differed when approaching the scope of the business, at least in its early days. Later, aesthetic choices would include new digital backgrounds to reflect the growth of the company, up until the story returns to 2008 and financial freefall.

Dixon and Daughter, a National Theatre production, took place exclusively within the confines of a family home in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Myself, alongside others in the class, were impressed by the level of detail put into the design of the home – it felt like the familiar home of an extended family member, with almost uncanny accuracy. In particular, I was enthralled by the way that the lighting design complimented the set. One moment when this occurred was when the oft discussed washing machine was illuminated from the back – this was everything that I would have expected from a horror flick – tense, somewhat silly, and knock-your-socks-off spooky. Another endearing moment was when Tina (aka Brianna) scribbled her name on the lamp shade in the living/dining room. It all felt so real, like a house that was well-lived in, and one where the walls could talk. In a way, it reminded me of the setting a scary story (of questionable truth) an uncle of mine would tell at a large family gathering. Above all, the setting complemented the dramatic action, and in a way was a character all by itself. I truly feel that the reason so many of my classmates had a positive experience watching Dixon and Daughter at the National was because of how well integrated the setting was with the dramatic action – they were, in many ways, one and the same.

Navy Blue, the sole production to take place in Dublin featured in this short essay, twists the notion of setting in a way that is probably the most unique among the shows I saw during the Maymester. As a dance, it uses setting in a different way than the other plays and musicals I saw in London and Dublin. At first glance, it appeared to be mostly devoid of a ‘setting’ (if there can even be such thing – can place truly be removed from a work of art?...perhaps a question for another time). In any case, the idea of setting developed in what I would describe as an arc throughout the plot of the dance. The audience is inundated with navy blue – literally the color navy blue throughout the arc of the story. As it continues to develop, more contextual details are provided that help form a sense of place, including some projections behind the dancers, pools of blue blood, and audio tracks. Specifically, I’d like to talk about how audio can be a device that provides an aesthetic of place in theater. The Eurocentricity of the setting was present via the sound bites from European news outlets, primarily with Irish and British (received pronunciation) accents. This establishes a setting of general Northwestern Europe and likely the island of Ireland or perhaps Great Britain. This vagueness provides a home-base by itself, as the audience is left to their own interpretation as to where specifically the story may be location (i.e., Springfield, USA in The Simpsons). Then, the soundtrack intensified as the arc climaxed, alerting the audience that the dramatic action was about to take place, which I interpreted as the gunshot sequence and subsequent blood pools of blood, which transitioned from climax to falling action. All of this takes place not in a specified location but one that exists only in the minds of audience members, a unique twist with cerebral outcomes informed by the aesthetics of place.

I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to discover, enjoy, and learn from productions in London and Dublin. I’ve cultivated not only a passion for dramatic works but an understanding of the forces that have shaped theater in the United Kingdom and by extension the entirety of the Anglosphere. I would be remiss without thanking Raymond and Jeanmarie for their leadership and guidance through the schedule of shows, cultural sites, and otherwise good times that were had.