Physical Theatre Research Blog 02

Steven Berkoff

Monday 1^st and Wednesday 3^rd December 2014

     For this week we continued our research sessions into the many different types of professional Physical Theatre productions and styles.  But for this particular week we began our introduction and research into the Theatrical actor/director ‘Steven Berkoff’.  Our aim for this week was to begin our research and understanding of the “Berkovian” style of acting and physicality, and conclude the week giving our own interpretation of this devising theatre style.

The Information we Learnt

     Watching short documentaries looking into ‘Steven Berkoff’ himself we all gained a decent amount of information and understanding of what passion ‘Berkoff’ has and why he brings it to theatre.  Within the first few minutes of the documentaries alone, I personally gained a few summary bullet points:

·         Often considered as “The Modern Shakespeare”.

·         Brings a Radical Theatrical Style.

·         Devised Choreography.

·         Berkoff himself Understands Metaphors within the Plays/Stories.

·         A Goal of Articulating what it is like to be Human.

·         Creates something out of the ordinary in Contemporary Theatre.

·         Performers look at the Human Movement, becoming a new form of Language on Stage.

·         Extending out beyond the Natural Flow.

·         Increases the use of Non-Verbal Communication.

·         All Great pieces of Production have Relevance towards Human Emotions.

·         and Brings a Nightmarish Quality to Theatre.

     I personally found these points to stand out particularly, and made me curious as to what ‘Berkoff’ brings to the stage and how he presents his productions to the audience. 

     Linking back to our first week, exploring the characters within ‘Commedia dell’Arte’, I was interested as to how I, as an actor could reform my body at will to embody those specific characters.  Thus engaging the audience and developing the storyline.  Whereas for this “Berkovian” style I was more interested/fascinated as to what the execution of these productions were like, and why most of them have gained positive reviews.

 Watching Berkoff at his Best

     After a short break we returned to watch ‘Steven Berkoff’ at work in one of his best known productions, ‘Metamorphosis’.   Translated as “Transformation”, ‘Metamorphosis’ tells the story of a young salesman who awakens to discover that he has transformed into a large insect-like creature.  Now watching the “Berkovian” interpretation/depiction of the story audiences are instantly shown the “nightmarish quality that is well known with ‘Steven Berkoff’. 

     Opening with four actors (including ‘Berkoff’ himself) on stage, with a greyish gothic colouring to their characters and the setting of the stage, they projected an enhancement of the contemporary theatre elements such as ‘Greek Chorus’ and ‘Shared Narration’.  At first glance I found the opening to be rather intriguing, but without a doubt there was a strong sense of creepy and eerie atmosphere within the play, and amongst us audience members.

      Writing in our text books we analysed the production, looking at these particular theatrical areas: Tableaux, Stylistic Performance, Mime, Movement, Pace, Use of Lighting, Set, Props, Staging, Performers Voice, and Ensemble/Chorus.

·         Tableaux – I found with their usage of Freeze Frames enhanced the dark atmospheric setting of the entire production.  As well as reflecting a slight metaphor in the characters descending into madness.

·         Stylistic Performance – As mentioned earlier there was a constant ‘Narrative Greek Chorus Ensemble’ in the opening of the production.  Intriguing us with its dark mysterious staging and characters.  As well as having an equal amount of clockwork and static movement within the performers performances.

·         Mime – Once again the clockwork and static movement between the characters was really descriptive, in showing us the relationships between themselves as well as what their status is within the family.  All the more engaging us wondering what will happen next.

·         Movement – There were two areas of movement within ‘Metamorphosis’ that really stood out for me in particular.  The first one being its engaging clockwork and static chorus movements between the characters in the opening ensemble speech.  I found this to be extremely engaging and interesting for my first introduction to the “Berkovian” style.  But the second piece of movement, that I found extraordinary and genius was the transformation movement scene, where the lead character turned into the giant insect-like creature.  I loved this piece of movement because it was extremely static in each twitch of his body, and he shaped himself in many ways and formations that almost seemed inhuman, making this standout scene all the more interesting, entertaining and jaw-dropping to behold.

·         Pace – At first I was beginning to see the pacing as an issue, as it was rather slow, but as the production went on I found it to be a real bonus for ‘Metamorphosis’.  Beginning slowly allowed us to understand what we’re in for and embrace the sudden and unusual creepy and eerie settings of the production.  Plus it enhanced the clockwork movement effects in the performances.  But it was taken to a faster pace for dramatic effect, which I felt was genius and was used to good effect to ensure we got every little detail.

·         Use of Lighting, Set, Props and Staging – Similarly to the pacing of ‘Metamorphosis’ I found there was a lack of lighting, sets, props and staging.  It was all kept to a minimal.  The lighting was very dark and gloomy to reflect the atmosphere.  The set wasn’t at a large size.  Miming was used more than actual props.  Plus the staging was all based around their movement.  But as the production went on I found this to be a real bonus and supported the production vastly, to get every detail to their audience and ensure maximum engagement.

·         Voice – I found that each performer on stage shared/kept a monotone variation, as well as low pacing.  I believed the purpose of them speaking like this was to enhance on the creep factor and ensure that all eyes were on them.  But one change of voice that I found the most excellent was the vocal change as the character became the giant insect.  I felt this enhanced on the physical changes he was going through, plus reflected a descending into madness.

·         Ensemble/Chorus – All performers on stage kept a real narrative collaboration to constantly engage audience members into the current affairs on stage.  As well as giving a collaborative reflection of the characters emotions.

     But in conclusion I found the “Berkovian” physical theatre style to be interesting and intriguing to the extent that I enjoyed and admired the creepy elements within the production.  Therefore I was interested to experience a first-hand practical exercise of the “Berkovian” theatrical style, giving me a wider view of the many physical theatre styles and what I can embody, as an actor, to take part in these production styles.