Staging: Platforms and Constructions

Abstract

As the previous chapter illustrated, during the course of the twentieth century, play narrative fragmented, imbued with a sense of fluidity and volatility. In fact the ‘storytelling space’, the stage itself, also underwent a radical re-envisioning. Rapid moving between fictionalised ‘locations’ and the juxtaposition of disparate images meant that a static, context-specific set became unworkable. The primary objective was now to create sets fit for purpose, in American designer Lee Simonson’s1 terms, ‘to relate them to the needs of our own day’(1932, p. 10). For the practitioners of the British avant-garde, there were both aesthetic ‘needs’ and a search for a method of engagement with their ‘own day’ outside the theatre walls; there are, therefore,both artistic and political intentions, though it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate between aesthetics and politics as the two become so inextricably linked. With the agitational message at the forefront of the modern theatrical experience, the platform stage became prominent, and was almost universally implemented by these experimental companies, regardless of specific political or artistic alignments. At this early stage in the argument, it must be noted that though these staging devices often look remarkably similar,the practitioners had a broad range of objectives in choosing such a sparse acting space.