Looking back at the process it is possible to see where the company has diverted away from their initial ideologies. STAMP’s aim in the beginning was to create a performance that did not rely on aesthetics but on the performer and their relationship with the audience. Reflecting on the final performance of The Trial I feel that we potentially had a striking aesthetic due to the simplicity and intelligence of the set and as such contradicted our initial aims in the manifesto. As is stated, ‘we will play with our source, we will have fun with what we can do with it’ (Watson 2013, online), though the playing and creativity of the set unintentionally broke away from the manifesto’s aims, we as an ensemble were able to explore and play as Brook would have intended. I feel this still made for entertaining theatre.
Post-show comments from audience members suggested that the performances were excellent and the aesthetic of the piece was correct, though it could be argued that with The Trial there is almost a moment of sudden bathos that occurs in the second act with the story of Block, we tried to achieve this change in mood but still maintain the playfulness that occurred in the first half of the play. It was only when K was alone with the audience that we really wanted the mood to be turned on its head- possibly this was too late for the audience to make that distinction. The play itself was enjoyable to perform in and our end product was something to be admired and appreciated as good theatre, even if it had strayed from our initial aims.
Our aim was to create a pure theatre; perhaps we still achieved this but not in the way we envisaged. The entire process has been an eye opening experience into the industry and how it functions. Hopefully STAMP Theatre will revise the ideologies of the manifesto and continue to make interesting and diverse theatre.
Work cited
Watson, A. (2013) STAMP Theatre’s Manifesto, Online: (Accessed 22/05/2013).
Brook, P. (1968) The Empty Space, London: Penguin.