Dragon’s Den pitchHarry Trow, Laura Guthrie,

Kirsty Emery, Eun Kyung Lee

REVIEW OF JAMES SON OF JAMES

We went into James son of James not really knowing what to expect. All we knew was it was by an award winning dance theatre company called The Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre Company and that it was a tragi-comedy.

The performance started with a dance piece involving long wooden planks that were tossed about the stage or used to toss the performers around. This was an exhilarating start and really grabbed our attention. The pace of the rest of the show was a little slower and never quite regained the excitement the first scene had given us. Nevertheless it was a thoroughly enjoyable show with some great dance sequences and although the narrative wasn’t particularly complex it had enough to keep us goingand keep the drive to the show, culminating in a strong ending.

The set had a pretty simple layout, a large planked stage area with the shell of a barn like building at the back. The most unusual part was a trapdoor in the middle of the stage that when opened revealed a large basin of water big enough for one of the actors to completely submurge themselves in.

Overall it was a interesting and enjoyable experience which we were all glad we had seen.

REVIEW OF FAMEOne of our chosen plays to see was Fame at the royal concert

hall, Nottingham. It was a production performed by Trent Dance and was performed to the original Broadway script.

I found the performance to be highly entertaining, some of the acting and vocals were weak but considering it was performed by mostly untrained students who were trained solely on dance to begin with, it was performed in a professional manor.

The show was performed in the royal concert hall Nottingham, which is slightly larger then our other theatre visits and normally used for concerts rather than full musical productions. It was very spacious and the stage is a large traditional thrust.

Design wise , the show was a success. The designer stuck to the traditional style set of fame featured mainly inside a school and a dance studio with large revolving mirrors. The final scene with the car mirrors the famous scene in the 1980’s film version and always makes the audience get up and dance along.

Overall I think the show was a success, I was very impressed with the enormous effort that went in to the show both with the dancers and the team behind the design. One of the cast members even helped out with props and costumes as well as being a part of the show, very commendable .

I thought this was a very entertaining performance of fame and on my 3rd showing of this show It was interesting to watch the performance performed by a different style of artists.

REVIEW OF GLACIERGlacier was an artistic piece of dance theatre by tilted productions in which seven skilled performers beautifully addressed the growing issues of global warming and environmental change. The production by award winning director and choreographer Maresa von Stockert took the audience on a thought provoking journey which forced everyone to look at the disturbing reality of the message. Glacier was set in an white world of polystyrene icebergs and icicles which gradually broke down and melted as the performers moved with the set and transformed the mood. The design was simple and worked very well visually as well as physically, allowing the dancers to use the set in many different ways thus playing a key role in the performance. The design elements worked extremely well and were an integral part to the success of the performance alongside the amazing dancers which brought it to life. At times i thought there were some weak links between the scenes but most of the time the narrative was easy to follow and had a good flow. I particularly liked the use of black liquid which represented oil, once spread all across the floor the white clothed dancers became covered as the danced and slid around before trying the wipe it off as if they were birds who had fallen into the pollution we had caused. Overall the production was very enjoyable to watch and left the audience with something to take away with them and think about.

THEATRE VS CINEMA• Theatre tends to be more expensive than a night at the

cinema.• Greater advertising for films makes it easier for people to

know what is on offer and what to expect.• In the cinema people are encouraged to keep silent whereas

in the theatre the audience reaction can be integral to show. Creating an all round better atmosphere.

• Films obviously have a wider range of special effects available to it, but when a special effect is done well live on stage it will amaze and excite the audience as much if not more.

• In the theatre performers can gauge the audience and play off their reactions or even get them involved as part of the story.

• Theatre being live performance makes each viewing slightly different no matter how structered the show is.

ORIGINAL IDEA

•The three productions we saw were all dance based performances which inspired us to use dance as our production idea.

• We wanted audience interaction to be a key feature, for them to feel part of the performance rather than just spectators.

WHY DEADLY SINS•We felt it was something that the audience

would be able to recognise and relate to. But is still fairly structured and diverse enough to create interesting design challenges.

• It would allow for different kinds of dance, sensations, moods, lights.

• It would be like seeing 7 different performances, which would help keep peoples attention and a constant level of entertainment.

AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE

• The audience experience is all about interacting with the performers and each other.

• By creating the promenade space within the theatre it means the audience can walk around and experience the design elements of the set for themselves, being able and encouraged to touch and move parts f the set and props creating a more impressive atmosphere.

• The idea of the 7 sins and making the issues controversial to today's world make the audience relate more to the narrative and heightens the experience for them.

VENUE

The Lakeside TheatreWe chose the Lakeside Theatre because it is a studio theatre which means we can change the performance space to suit us.

DEISGN ELEMENTS

•Using the Lakeside studio theatre we would create a promenade performance space.

•Different areas within the space would represent the different sins.

HEATH AND SAFETY

•People moving around•Disabilities, such as wheel chair users,

making it easy to access.•Dark lighting and strobe lights can affect

some of the audience. We would need to warn the audience of these matters before the performance begins, or in the leaflet before booking tickets.

•Putting a certificate on it, only over 18’s allowed.

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