Experimental Term Introduction 

This term we are devising a piece of experimental theatre, using the practitioners Antonin Artaud, Peter Brook and some devising methods from Grotowski to influence our work. Experimental theatre pushes the boundaries and limitations of what normal, conventional theatre seemingly looks like. The purpose for this type of theatre is to create a new, unseen experience for the audience, stretching their typical idea's of what an audience member should do. 

The theme for our performance this term if England. We will be exploring England's past, its present state and how the general public feel about living in this country today. We looked at this quote form Shakespeare's Richard II, 'this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, This England.' and a poem named 'Going Going' by Philip Larkin as a form of stimulus to devise our piece from. After discussing a few opinions on the poems and contemplating how we could include their themes in our piece, we agreed that our performance will be staged in Promenade around the school, both inside and outside. Various scenes depicting locations within Britain at different time periods will be shown through this setting, before fixing the audience in one space to do a final group ritual at the end. I think having the piece in promenade is a great way to stage this type of performance, as it is immerse and will challenge the audience-performer relationship, which is essentially the main purpose of experimental theatre. 

Jack asked us to lie on the floor in semi-supine while he read out the Shakespeare monologue and think of what Britain means to us, what images/locations come to mind. I immediately thought of the gorgeous forests and moors in the countryside, along with the chilly pebbly beaches outlining this small island. Due to this, I changed the background of my blog to an image of a sun setting over a field.