Winter of content
FROM October 11 to 22, Cork Opera House will present The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, the latest production from innovative theatre company Corcadorca.
It is now 20 years since Corcadorca was founded and in that time they have produced over 30 shows, most of which utilised unusual or iconic locations. These have included the original Ford’s Factory, Sir Henry’s nightclub and Cork city courthouse.
Corcadorca’s productions have also provided a valuable nursery ground for up and coming talent. Actor Cillian Murphy and playwright Enda Walsh are among those the company discovered. Corcadorca are also no strangers to the works of William Shakespeare, having previously produced three of his plays.
Whereas these made use of offbeat locations, the conventional theatre space of the Opera House will no doubt create its own particular demands. However, this is a challenge that the experienced creative team will relish.
It is also worth noting that The Winter’s Tale is not necessarily one of Shakespeare’s easiest plays, and certainly lacks the recognisable, coherent structure of his classic tragedies. It is one of his later works and was quite closely based on the story in Pandosto, written by minor Elizabethan playwright Robert Greene in 1588. A somewhat disgruntled and probably jealous Greene later referred to Shakespeare as an “upstart crow”.
The Winter’s Tale was probably written in 1611, was first published in 1623 and has been variously classed as either a romance or a comedy ever since. With multiple locations, a mixture of comedy and tragedy, depictions of pastoral life, a trial scene, singing and dancing and reflections on nature versus art and young love, the play needs artful direction to maintain its coherency and bring out its fun and magic. Despite being considered a “problem play” by many critics, The Winter’s Tale often enthrals audiences when it is staged.
The play is also notable for two idiosyncratic elements, namely the 16-year gap between the first and second parts of the play, and what is perhaps the most famous stage direction in theatrical history: “Exit Antigonus, pursued by a bear.”
This occurs as Antigonus leaves a baby to die in the wilderness on the orders of King Leontes, who believes the newborn is the bastard child of his wife Hermione and his friend Polixenes. It creates a sticky staging problem, as the appearance of a man in a bear suit at a moment of high drama may well provoke humour rather than pathos and in the process break the dramatic spell. Perhaps Shakespeare had access to trained bears from the London bear pits or perhaps it was a mischievous device designed to test aspiring directors.
Compared to Hamlet, for example, where the characters rarely stray outside the gloomy halls of Elsinore, and where the mood is almost exclusively sombre, The Winter’s Tale features two distinctly different locales and has both magical and comedic elements. It thus provides a challenge for costume and set design.
Costume designer Joan Hickson studied fashion in Limerick and fell into the theatrical world by accident after running into Corcadorca founder Pat Kiernan. She has now worked with the company for 10 years and has become used to the particular demands of unusual locations.
“It is a very creative job; one play may be contemporary, the next may be a period piece,” she says. “If, for example a play is staged outside, you need to consider whether costumes need to be waterproof, how the fabric will dry or whether the actors will be cold. I am actually looking forward to working in a conventional theatre where you have a lot of freedom and you aren’t as constrained by outside factors.
“I work with the set designer to create a particular look from very early in the process of developing a new show. However, I will also flit in and out of rehearsals and talk to the cast continuously. It’s important to see how the cast are interpreting the play, and you can’t be too precious about your own work. Everyone is there to make the play work and if something you have designed doesn’t fit then you need to change it.
“Without giving too much away, this production isn’t set in a particular time and so I had a lot of scope to work with the magical elements of the play. However, from a practical viewpoint I need to also make sure that the audience recognises the different characters and can follow the plot as it unfolds. It is important to keep reading and re-reading the play and this job gives you an amazing opportunity to really understand Shakespeare’s work.”
While the underlying structure that comes from costume and set design is generally created early in the process, for musical composer Mel Mercier a lot of the work comes in a fairly short and frenetic period prior to opening night.
“I love working with Shakespeare because the narrative is so strong,” Mercier says. “I feel that my role is to heighten the drama and to work with the other designers so that the whole feel of the play is well integrated. It is important not to over-compose and to make the most out of a relatively small amount of material. The music shouldn’t really be a distinct element that demands attention in its own right or that pulls you out of the drama as it unfolds in front of you. It is often more effective if the audience can’t put the music in a particular box that is instantly recognisable. It isn’t easy, but as with the best film scores, everyone recognises when it is right.”
Although some composers will have the score ready long before a play opens, Mercier needs to see the technical rehearsals to get a proper feel for a given production. It means that he will have a limited time to complete his musical score.
“For this production it will be a soundscape created in the studio,” he says. “It’s more about creating a texture for the play, rather than focusing strongly on rhythm or melody. I will create a broad palette of sounds, some from conventional musical instruments, some more abstract, that I will take with me into those final technical rehearsals. An awful lot of those sounds and music will be jettisoned once I get a sense of the final look and feel of the play.
“This isn’t a historically accurate production, so I have a lot of freedom and that suits me. Although I have a background in traditional Irish music I also studied world music and I think a broad knowledge is a definite advantage that gives you the ability to suit the music to the nature of the piece. I will be fine tuning everything right up to the opening. Up to now it has always come together on the night.”
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