Into the Wild--Open-Air Theatre

“When you leave the hotel in the evening, and throw yourself into the heart of that throng, and move with it without aim or object, swept along, hither and thither, their life seems to be yours, their soul flows into you, and you begin to believe at last in a great world spirit.”—Dorn in The Seagull

This is one of my favorite quotes from the plays we have watched over this past month. Trained to underline for my school classes, I felt myself mentally highlighting the quotable moments from tonight's show. There were certainly several throughout the performance, and I absolutely enjoyed the content, scenery, and acting. 

Sitting outside watching Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, I also felt the unity Dorn described as I shared the outdoor experience with everyone in the park. We saw this play, one of the most complex on our syllabus, in Regents Park open-air theatre. Full of symbolism and moving monologues, The Seagull ambitiously attempted to question the nature of success, relationships, and the essence of art. As a writer myself, listening to Trigorin’s speech about the mania of writing and constantly finding poetry in everyday life, I felt that this play poignantly captured my own experiences. The struggle over creating art for art’s sake versus selling product was a huge issue in this play, and it forced me to question what I wanted more—the joy of creating or the knowledge that people appreciated my creation. As Nina puts it, she wants nothing but “fame, fame, fame.” Furthermore, Chekhov's portrayal of the tumultuous relationship between Arkadina and Constantine reminded me of the relationship between Liam and his father in Violence and Son. Both plays share the frustrating element of parental neglect that forces the child to act out to gain some attention. In both instances, the son eggs the parent on simply to get a reaction from them. The clear parallels made me think more about the nature of familial responsibilities; these parent/son interactions demonstrate how important communication and attention are to fulfilling a child's needs. When the parent is too focused on themselves to realize how much their child needs them, the relationship falls apart.

Watching these issues played out in an outdoor theatre was amazing. I loved everything about the environment. Of course, there are inherent struggles involved with putting your production in the hands of Mother Nature. There is the risk of other influences getting involved—especially animals in a park. Such a key part of the play was the seagull imagery; Constantine kills one for no reason, thus symbolizing Trigorin’s destruction of Nina by exploiting her love for him. The most significant prop is thus the seagull, but at one point during the show, a particular bird got stuck in a nearby tree and sent up quite a ruckus. I thought it was part of the show and was amazed they were using a real bird, until the actors ignored it and the bird eventually flew away. Such unpredictability becomes a minor nuisance, but also makes the experience more unique—each night, the outdoor environment will be a little different.

The most obvious issue with an open-air theatre is weather. Plays can be cancelled due to storms; as a matter of fact, during more than one point in the evening it sprinkled on us. We were also pretty chilly (although not as much as the actors that had to dunk themselves in the pond). For those of you back home swimming during this sunny month of June, remember that we were cuddled up under heavy blankets and several jackets in the fifty degree weather. However, it was not severe cold, so the benefits outweighed the slight discomfort.

To begin with, the stage could possibly take the award for best scenery. It was fascinating to see the way that man-made construction merged into nature seamlessly, without the audience being able to tell where stage left off and park began. It truly felt as though the trees and shrubbery behind were reaching out to trail onto the stage. As a play that dealt a great deal with nature, I found being immersed into it very helpful in understanding the play itself. In London, the sun doesn’t set until nearly 9:30 p.m., so for most of the performance, the light held out for us. Interestingly enough, the first act of the play sets the stage as more humorous and light-hearted as we laugh at the shallowness of Arkadina and the trashiness of Trigorin. However, when things were getting truly desperate, as Nina began fighting her inner demons and Constantine spiraled into his final bout of despair, the sun disappeared, leaving us in darkness that matched the foreboding mood. Ending with Constantine’s suicide and the stage lights going out, it was almost as if the audience was also plunged into our final rest.

Another pro of the outdoor theatre was its ability to utilize the bad weather. When we saw A Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, we were wowed by the production elements, especially the thunderstorm with real water. During The Seagull, the same effect was used; buckets of water poured down during the final scene from a structure erected as part of the backdrop. Because tonight was stereotypical London weather (overcast and damp), I felt as though we were in a real storm. No matter how great the effects are, an indoor theatre cannot convince me that I am outside in the rain the way that actually being outside in the rain does. With the wind whipping in the trees, I believed for a long time that the whistling noise was natural rather than produced. Although the sound effects definitely added to the ambiance, I was chilled to the bone by the natural elements of the production.